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Coming to Guilin and if choosing to live in Yangshuo overnight or for days, then the guides would normally give the guests the optional program Impression of Liu sanjie. Indeed, the show is worth having a try, especially for those who want to learn more about Chinese culture and culture of  this area. The followings are more information about this performance:

The show was directed by the world-famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Director Zhang is famous not only because that he is the director for the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but also that he for the first time made Chinese movies known by the whole world. Director Zhang began to be involved into the movie industry at the beginning of 1980s. Before that time he was only a photographer for movies. But his talent for directing was not discovered until he got the chance to direct the film The Red lanterns. After this film he won his fame and began to be known by the audience, and one by one his masterpieces began to appear on the screen. Among these the most famous ones must be HERO which for the first time for the Chinese movies to win the nomination of Oscar. Each year this director would present something new to the expecting fans. In 2007 his newest movie the curse of golden flower came out. In a few days the film became the hot topic. Some considered this film a new style of the director while the others criticized that this new film came up with too much violence. Anyway, this film was a great success. According to the news report that this film made a new record of revenues among all Chinese films.

Apart from directing films the director also put his attention to the operas and huge performances. In 2006 his opera Qin Shihuang came onto stage in New York. This opera which is completely a new reform to the old-way expression won him another reputation as a director for operas.
 

His attention to the performance is mainly reflected in his three performances of which the show in Yangshuo is one of them. The other two are in Hangzhou and Kunming respectively. All these three shows are about ethnic customs. Take the show in Yangshuo for example. The show in Yangshuo is set in a famous minority women singer Liusanjie. The singer, according to this minority’s legend has a beautiful voice and a deep love for a boy who also loved her the moment he saw her. But in those days the two lovers can not decide their marriage. The decision was in his master’s hand. So the girl escaped with her honey. The end was the capture of the two and they were forced to return to the master. Under their persistence the master agreed to give them a chance in the oldest way this minority frequently used. The method is through a song competition. If the girl won the competition then the girl could go with her boy, otherwise she had to marry her master. During the competition the girl showed her beautiful voice and at last won the competition. But the evil master ate his words and was not willing to let her go. The two lovers were separated and…….a tragedy was followed.

Based on this tragedy, director Zhang directed the show in his way of understanding. His expression is never an easy repeat of the tragedy but a new combination of local culture with Chinese culture, of unique minority culture and the widely known majority culture. The whole performance is done on the water. The show used the real limestone hills as its background and real local minority people as its actors and actresses. Director Zhang was famous for his magnificent way of expressions and this show is no exception. You may not believe that that the performance needs seven hundred actors and actresses. Especially in the end when the hundreds of the actresses appear on the water and then disappear in a second, you would rea