Foreign affairs

When a western-raised princess meets an old conservative empress dowager in the Qing dynasty, excitement fills the walls of the Forbidden City.

De Ling and Ci Xi, presented by the Hongkong Repertory Theatre, will stage the unknown stories between Princess De Ling and Empress Dowager Ci Xi - the last two legendary women of the Qing Dynasty - in the capital from July 3 to 6.

The story is set at the end of the 19th century, when Princess De Ling, who was born and educated in the west, returns to China with her father to live in the Forbidden City.