The Daming Palace rises northeast of modern Xi'an as the residence of Tang dynasty emperors for more than 220 years, and this film traces its history alongside the dynasty that built it. Founded by the Li family after the Sui collapse, the Tang ran a civil service system that recruited officials by examination rather than birth, and the film credits that meritocracy for the era's stability. Chang'an itself gets close attention: a capital of up to a million people, markets stocked by Silk Road traders, and a court where Wu Zetian ruled as China's only female emperor. The film also tracks the empire's undoing, from military miscalculation to the eight-year An Lushan Rebellion, through eunuch factionalism and warlord infighting, ending with Zhu Quanzhong's capture of Chang'an in 907 AD. Cultural achievements get their due too, including the poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu and innovations like woodblock printing and gunpowder. The palace's ruins, now a protected heritage site, stand as the physical remainder of everything the film describes.