I had been waiting for nearly two months, and last weekend it was finally Wuhan’s turn for the 2023 Genshin concert tour. After seeing it in person, I came away genuinely happy with the experience. Overall, I was very satisfied, so here’s a short write-up while everything is still fresh.
Getting a ticket was harder than I expected
The first thing worth mentioning is how difficult this ticket was to get.
Tickets for the Poly tour stop went on sale at 12:00 on September 8, and I completely missed the announcement. By the time class ended and I checked my phone, it was already 12:20. I opened it and immediately realized the sale had already started, so I rushed into the ticketing system. What happened next was exactly what anyone would expect: there was basically no chance. People who were there right on time still couldn’t get tickets, let alone someone arriving twenty minutes late.
So I immediately went to Xianyu, hoping I might be able to buy a scalped ticket with just a few hundred yuan added on. Luckily, after scrolling only a little, I found a 680 RMB ticket listed for just 20 RMB more. After confirming the details with the seller, I bought it on the spot for 700 RMB.
To make sure I wasn’t being scammed, I went to Qintai that very afternoon to pick up the ticket in person. Only then did I finally relax. I still can’t believe I ran into such a decent seller.
Arriving at the venue
My show was the 3 p.m. performance on the 28th. By a little after 2, the square outside was already packed. There were also plenty of players showing up in cosplay to attend the concert, which honestly felt like something Qintai had probably never seen before.
One thing I found pretty interesting was that some younger kids had come too. Their parents were sitting outside waiting—maybe because they couldn’t get tickets, or maybe just to save money. While they were chatting, I overheard questions like, “Do a lot of kids around yours like this?” and “Is this game really that popular right now?”
It was pretty clear that even the parents were surprised by just how big and enthusiastic the Genshin crowd was.
When entering, we got checked in and were given a redemption code, then went to collect the souvenir set. For the 680 tier, the acrylic merch included one character of your choice plus one random one, which was a really nice setup. I’d been worried I might not get a character I liked, so I immediately picked Diona for my chosen one. The random one turned out to be Zhongli. At that point it honestly felt perfect.
I also noticed something that challenged one of my old assumptions. I used to think games in this kind of anime-style space were mostly played by men, but at the concert the audience felt very evenly split between male and female players.
After picking up the souvenirs, I headed straight inside. Qintai Grand Theatre didn’t feel especially large. Even with a 680 ticket, my seat was in the middle-back section off to the side, and the cheaper tickets were apparently on the second floor. Still, just getting a ticket at all already felt lucky, and the seat itself was honestly fine.
The concert itself
Out of respect for concert etiquette, I didn’t take any photos during the performance and only snapped one at the beginning.
The setlist matched the official one released for the concert: Mondstadt, Inazuma, and Sumeru in the first half, then Liyue in the second half. The Wuhan stop also had the same three encore pieces as the other cities: Fontaine, Destined Parting, and a segment of Liyue.
Personally, I thought the music selection this time was extremely thoughtful. Whoever put the setlist together clearly spent real effort on it. Several of my favorite tracks were included, and I imagine they’re also the ones that move the most people.
That same evening I posted some thoughts about the performance, and they still capture how I felt:
Genshin’s soundtrack contains so many delicate and subtle emotions. It pulls you back into the stories told by the game and lets you feel joy, sorrow, and everything in between. The grand orchestral writing in Genshin Impact paints that overwhelming sense of a vast world opening before you. The violin line in the middle of Tender Strength is deeply moving, full of reluctance to let go of childhood and the pain of having to do so anyway. A Harmonious Rest brings back one touching story after another—Hanachirusato, Saiguu, Mr. Tejima. Every time I hear For Riddles, for Wonders, I think of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata’s selfless love for the people of Sumeru; the disappearance of something beautiful is always what makes people cry the hardest. Rage Beneath the Mountains vividly conveys Azhdaha’s fury and helplessness, and it’s overwhelming in the best way. And Liyue, as a kind of “hometown tune,” carries a sense of peace, stability, and reassurance—of a land at rest and people living in safety—that I think everyone can feel.
The final encore was the Liyue segment. The conductor invited the audience to turn on their phone flashlights, and with that calm, gentle music filling the hall, the atmosphere felt almost dreamlike.
The full concert lasted about 100 minutes. It was short enough to feel fleeting, but it also felt rich and memorable from beginning to end.
After the show
When it ended, a lot of people stayed around in the square, and plenty were taking pictures with cosplayers. I had gone by myself, though, and had no one to wander around with. Also, I’m pretty socially awkward, so I only looked around a bit before slipping away.
There was one Ayaka cosplayer who was absurdly pretty, and a very cute little Klee too—but I was too shy to ask for a photo.
A few complaints, despite how much I liked it
Even though the concert was memorable and left me very satisfied overall, there were still a couple of things that bothered me.
First, this was my first time hearing a live symphony orchestra, so I went in with expectations that were probably too high. I ended up realizing that the live sound simply wasn’t as polished as the recorded versions. The orchestra had several small slips—some entrances and rhythms between sections didn’t line up perfectly. In one part of Liyue, even the concertmaster’s violin tone cracked a little.
I later asked a friend who studies music, and apparently this is completely normal. Studio versions are built from perfect takes recorded section by section by top-tier orchestras, and then professionally mixed afterward. A live performance only gets one chance, and the pressure on the players is much higher, so naturally it won’t sound as flawless as a recording.
The other issue was the amount of shouting between pieces. I don’t know how most people feel about it, but I found it pretty inappropriate. It was especially bad when the orchestra was already in place and ready to begin, only to have the start delayed by a loud yell from the audience. During The Divine Damsel of Devastation, the musicians were already prepared, but a sudden shout interrupted the moment. In the end the orchestra basically had to start playing to get the audience to settle down.
No matter how relaxed the atmosphere is supposed to be, basic concert etiquette still matters. That kind of behavior isn’t just disrespectful to the rest of the audience—it’s also disrespectful to the artists on stage.