Making music

Scenes from Peach Blossoms Again. Original Chinese musicals are featured at Shanghai Culture Square in March.

Guoyun Lou (the building of passing clouds) is an important library, with very valuable ancient books among its collection.

The musical will tell the story of the building and the antique books in it, focusing on the events of the past century, especially World War II, when the building was almost destroyed by gun powder, and the ancient books ransacked by the Japanese soldiers.

"I made use of the local music, borrowing from pingtan and Kunqu," Jin says. "My ambition is to feature China's folk music, especially the gentle music styles of the local area."

Also to be presented is The Wonderful Adventures of Nils from the People's Art Theater of Wuhan of Hubei province. The play is based on the fictional story by Swedish author Selma Lagerlof, featuring an international production team whose members have worked on highly acclaimed musicals such as Les Miserable.

Ten Years of No Tear Drop from the Taiyuan Culture, Radio and TV Group of Shanxi province is the only musical that tells a realistic story. Liang Qing, the producer says the play was inspired by a pop song of the same title by Wang Feng. "It's about dreams, struggles, youth and a life condition that's worth remembering," Liang says.