Beauty and a beast

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-03 17:30

A new production of Legend of the White Snake is being staged nightly at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities.

It premiered in August during the Olympic Arts Festival at the National Center For the Performing Arts, and because it has won over admiring audiences, continues its successful season.

The famous tale is about Bai Suzhen, the White Snake, who has practiced Buddhism for thousands of years and can transform into a beautiful woman.

She falls in love with a young man named Xu Xian at the Broken Bridge on West Lake and wants to marry him. Fa Hai, a monk who lives on Gold Mountain Temple, stops the marriage, using his magical powers to subdue Bai and entrapping her in the Leifeng Pagoda.

Many years later, her younger sister Xiao Qing, who is actually a green snake, comes to her rescue.

Director Cao Xiaoning mixes elements of Peking Opera, acrobatics and kungfu with a multimedia presentation. Leading Peking Opera actress Wang Yan plays Bai, while Zhang Jianfeng takes Xu's role.

7:30 pm, daily

49 Fuxingmen Neidajie Street, Xicheng district

6608-8007, 6608-8177