On their maiden journey along Line 2, which runs north-south through the ancient city, subway riders waiting at Beikezhan Station－the line's northern terminus－were welcomed by Tang Dynasty enthusiasts dressed in period costumes.
Volunteers recruited online also performed traditional Tang dances on the platform at Anyuanmen Station, one of the line's busiest stations.
Within two hours of the initial journey, short videos of the train had topped 5 million clicks on video-sharing app Douyin, with more than double that across all online platforms.
The period decorations were created by artists under the guidance of experts from Northwest University in Xi'an, said Chen Hongchao, office director of Xi'an Metro Co.