This undated photo shows
Xuanzang and the Queen of the Women's Nation.
China's first large acrobatic play, the Monkey King,
a.k.a Journey to the West, will be staged at the 8th China
Art Festival in the central Chinese city of Wuhan this weekend, the
China News Service reported on Friday.
Presented by the Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe, the show is
directed by Chen Weiya, the assistant director for the opening and
closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The play will be the only acrobatic -- and the largest overall
-- performance of the art festival. More than 250 artists will
perform all kinds of acrobatic feats, as well as dancing, puppet
plays and kung fu.
According to Xu Bin, an official at the Guangzhou Culture
Bureau, the play's production took about three years. It has had
four different round in Guangzhou and the 56 total performances
earned more than three million yuan (about US$400,000) at the box
office.
(CRI November 16, 2007)
