This place can be considered the highlight of this trip to Zhengzhou. It is China’s first panoramic immersive drama theme park, located in the Zhongmu New District of Zhengzhou, covering a total area of 622 mu. The core of the project is an “Illusion City” with a side length of 328 meters and a height of 15 meters. It features 21 theaters of various sizes and nearly 1,000 actors, comprising 3 major plays and 18 minor plays, with a total performance duration of nearly 700 minutes. It is one of the largest drama clusters in China in terms of scale and performance duration.
Unique Henan · Land of Dramas primarily employs immersive theatrical art, using a unique dramatic “Illusion City” as its medium, emphasizing a “Grand Chessboard” design concept. Rooted in Yellow River civilization, the Unique Henan · Land of Dramas scenic project has a total investment of nearly 6 billion yuan. It comprises 56 spaces and a 360-meter-long rammed earth wall. Major attractions include Hundred Mu of Fertile Fields, Red Temple School, Lijia Village Theater, and Railway Station Theater.
The project was initiated in 2017, construction began in 2018, and it opened for business in 2021, developed by Jianye Group.
Wang Chaoge is the chief director. Wang Chaoge is extremely famous; together with Zhang Yimou and Fan Yue, she co-directed many large-scale outdoor performances, such as the Impression series (Impression Sanjie Liu / Impression Lijiang / Impression West Lake / Impression Putuo / Impression Da Hong Pao, etc.), The First Emperor, Happy Lijiang River, and the Olympic Emblem Unveiling Ceremony. In this “Iron Triangle,” Zhang Yimou focuses more on overall direction, Fan Yue leans towards stage design, while Wang Chaoge is essentially responsible for execution. Therefore, Wang Chaoge is also known as the pioneer of large-scale outdoor performances in China. After the Impression series, she directed the Seeing Again series (Seeing Pingyao / Seeing Wutai Mountain / Seeing Dunhuang, etc.) and the Only series (Only Emei Mountain / Only Love / Only Dream of the Red Chamber, etc.). The Only series can be regarded as the third generation of large-scale outdoor performances.
However, “Unique Henan” is so famous and popular that before visiting it, I had no idea there were already several other “Land of Dramas” parks. But because the Only series is drama-themed and largely immersive—completely different from the previous Impression series where audiences sit in rows watching light shows—it requires not only a large staff but also much more from the audience. Consequently, as a cultural tourism project, achieving profitability is not easy; Only Emei Mountain even ceased operations and closed in August 2025 due to financial difficulties.
Tickets must be purchased via the mini-program. There are 3 main theaters (Lijia Village, Railway Station, and Illusion City) and multiple smaller theaters. You can only choose one main theater and must select the specific session at the time of purchase. For smaller theaters, you can queue at the entrance before each show starts; once capacity is reached, no more people can join the line, and you can only queue for the next session after those inside have entered. The mini-program displays the schedule for each show and real-time queuing status.
Driving is highly recommended. The parking lot is spacious and free. We visited on the last day of the Qingming Festival holiday, so it was quite crowded. We set off early at 8:30 AM, drove for half an hour, and arrived around 9:00 AM. We had booked the 10:00 AM Railway Station Theater session, so upon entry, we headed straight there, with time to take some photos along the way.
The rest of the day went very smoothly. We watched “Six Horses of the Son of Heaven” at 11:30, had lunch at 12:30, saw “Xue Huaiyi” at 13:30, “No. 7 Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works Auditorium” at 14:30, “Wheat, Oh Wheat” at 15:30, “Waiting Hall” at 16:20, “Cao Cao’s Wheat Field” at 17:30, and “Su Shi’s Henan” at 18:30. Then we grabbed dinner at KFC at 19:00, watched the “Light of Civilization” laser projection show at the main gate at 19:50, and then headed back.
The schedule was very tight, but the overall experience was excellent. The themes generally revolve around history, grain, and trains. With nearly a thousand staff members and actors throughout the venue, it truly feels like something only Henan could achieve.
The photos are in no particular order, and I won’t spoil the plot. There are plenty of recommendations online already, and all the popular shows are fantastic~
Hundred Mu of Fertile Fields: wheat and dwarf sorghum are planted here in two seasons per year.
Additionally, since these are live theatrical performances, the venues become very dark and quiet once the show begins. Despite numerous official reminders, phone calls, camera flashes, and crying children are unavoidable, which can sometimes be quite frustrating. If the venue weren’t driven by profit, I’d suggest banning elderly visitors and young children entirely; this would at least generate better word-of-mouth among the target audience. In fact, throughout the performances, the lighting typically features high contrast and often flashes briefly, making it extremely difficult to capture good photos—you might as well just focus on enjoying the show.
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