Opera revives story of young female soldiers

The Red Detachment of Women caused a sensation in the country when it was screened in 1961.

Directed by Chinese filmmaker Xie Jin, the film was based on the true story of a group of female Communist soldiers on Hainan Island during the civil war in the early 1930s.

The story was later adapted into a ballet by the National Ballet of China. The ballet version of The Red Detachment of Women has been staged around the world more than 4,000 times since its premiere in Beijing in 1964.