Impression Sister Liu San-jie Show
Directed by the famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou, Impression Sister Liu San-jie Show is an outdoor performance set in real mountains and rivers in Yangshuo County. This gorgeous on-water show expresses the beautiful scenery of the Li River, the great achievements of the ethnic culture of the Zhuang, Miao, Dong and Yao minorities, and the inspiration of 67 Chinese artists. The scene is spectacular and shocking!
The performance regards the Impression Sister Liu San-jie as the general theme, and creatively combines the classical Liu San-jie's Songs, ethnic groups' culture and the fishing lights together, to reflect the harmonious atmosphere between human beings and the nature．The participants in the show are all local, mostly from Zhuang and Yao background. They grew up by the Li River and perfectly show the emotion between the local nature and themselves in the performance.
Facts
- In Chinese: 印象刘三姐
- Address: No. 1 Tianyuan Road, East Street, Yangshuo County, Guilin
- Show twice a night: 20:00, 21:35 (in summer); 19:30, 21:05 (in winter)
- Lasting: 70 min
- Best time to visit: from Mar to Nov
- Ticket price:
RMB680 for A1; RMB480 for A2; RMB320 for B1, Rmb230 for B2, RMB190 for C; RMB85 for kid between 1.2 and 1.4 meters; free for kids under 1.2 meters (without seat)
The Legend of Liu Sanjie
Reputed as "the queen of folk songs of Zhuang ethnic minority", Liu Sanjie has been being admired by the Zhuang minority since the ancient times. She was a brave Zhuang lady who was very good at singing folk songs and not scared of the bad landlords. Under great oppress from the lords, Sister Liu fought with the poor against the lords by her songs.
The first record of Liu Sanjie was in Song dynasty. It’s said that she was born in Tang dynasty and was the third kid in Liu family. She is wise and brave, most importantly, she is home to singing, and always sings for the poor and people of underclass. There is a local moneybag whose son is an evil, framed Liu Sanjie many times. One day, the rich man hired three scholars to compete Liu Sanjie in singing, and the loser needs to accept punishment. As a result, Liu Sanjie won three scholars. Later, a young man who is good at singing came to challenge her. They sing for 7 days and nights, tie; at last, two people are turned into a stone.
Highlights & What to See?
Impression Liu Sanjie Show originates from the legend of fairy folk singer in Guangxi Province, Liu Sanjie, but it’s not limited to the story of Liu Sanjie herself. The show uses China's traditional Chinese painting composition and technique into real mountains and water, which pioneers the live-action shows worldwide; combine the unique rhythm and facet of minority songs, showing the natural scenery along the coast of the Li River, working life of fishermen villagers, ethnic customs and so on, through the visual effect and art layout fusion.
There is no continuous story line and no accurate translation of lyrics in the whole performance. Instead, with Liu Sanjie as the guide, the performance shows the lifestyle and customs of the Zhuang, Yao, Miao and Dong ethnic groups in Guangxi through freehand pictures and familiar folk songs.
There are seven chapters within Impression Sister Liu San-jie Show, which gained a high comment from an official of World Tourism Organization that "it is a show worthy of a trip from any corner of the world".
Preface: Scenery Legend
The stage among the landscapes is lit up, and Liu Sanjie sings the folk songs to the audiences when takes a bamboo rafts.
Chapter 1: Red Impression/ Folk Song
Minority men and women wave torches and sing folk songs on both sides of the river, representing the traditional culture of antiphonic songs of local minorities; fishermen wear coir raincoats and bamboo hats and peddle their way on the Li River.
Chapter 2: Green Impression/ Homeland
Scenes of rural scenes reflect the scenes of the daily life of Dong people living along Li River, and showcase the beauty and leisurely hometown with folk songs.
Chapter 3: Gold Impression/ Fishing Lights
Night falls with lights up, witness the hard work of fishermen and harvest, presenting the natural inheritance of the primitive mode of work.
Chapter 4: Blue Impression/ Love Song
The guarding fairy dances on the moon while girls become bridegroom under the moonlight, showing the ethnic customs of wedding.
Chapter 5: Silver Impression/ Pageantry
Miao girls wearing ceremonious dress and silver ornament walk on the river hand in hand in the dark. Through the formation changes and the combination of light and shade, they make up a wonderful picture with the landscape, and they dance with the sky and the earth, abstractly displaying the beautiful shadow and festival atmosphere of the local culture and customs.
End: Sing to the Nature
All the actors take a curtain call with folk songs.
Tips for the Seat:
Zone C is the closest area to the stage, A1 and A2 are the farthest at the same time. But the further you sit the greater view you can get, so we highly recommend you booking the middle or back seats.
How to Get There?
You can walk there after you stroll around the West Street in the afternoon. The location of the show is in the East Street; it takes about 20 minutes to walk from West Street to East Street.
A more convenient way is take the electric cart at the gate of West Street, but it’s a little hard to have a seat in summer because of the busy season.
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