Show at rebuilt temple site brings history to life

The show is set in front of the Porcelain Pagoda in the Great Bao'en Temple.

A pioneer of China's shijing yanchu, or real-scenery shows, Mei has staged 17 such shows that combine real scenery such as mountains and rivers and local culture.

"Such shows are about Chinese philosophy－the harmony between human beings and nature. The best culture makes a perfect match with the prettiest scenery," he says.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle built the royal temple, including the 78-meter-high pagoda inside it, in memory of his mother.

Word of its beauty then spread to the Western world in the 19th century after overseas travelers visited it and vividly described it in their writings.

In 1839, the author Hans Christian Andersen mentioned the Porcelain Pagoda in China in his fairy tale The Garden of Paradise.

Destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64), the iconic pagoda was reopened to the public last December after years of restoration.

In 2010, property tycoon Wang Jianlin donated 1 billion yuan ($148 million) to rebuild the temple.