Known as the Oriental Homer, the Tibetan epic "King Gesar" will be brought to the stage as a dance drama for the first time.

Created by the Chengdu Military Area Command, the drama “Hero Gesar" will be held in the the Southwest Theater in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from Dec 28 to 30, according to command publicity official Zhao Zhong.

After the premiere in Chengdu, the drama will be staged in the National Grand Theatre in Beijing from March 13 to 15 and have a performing tour in different parts of the country, Zhao said.

"King Gesar," the world's longest epic, is a symbol of Tibetan culture and is on the list of China’s national intangible cultural heritage.

Lasting 100 minutes, the drama involving 180 performers narrates how Gesar comes to the human world from heaven to help Tibetans by punishing evil beings and he returns to heaven after the victory.