Show at rebuilt temple site brings history to life

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Precious Buddhist relics have been enshrined in the Great Bao'en Temple during its long history, including monk Xuanzang's skull sarira. In 2008, archeologists claimed a piece of skull sarira of Siddhartha Gautama was unearthed in the temple.

"It feels amazing to watch stories that actually happened here several hundred years ago, especially as the place is now a ruins museum where you can worship cultural artifacts," Mei says.

"We will have about 300 performances next year."

Beijinger Wang Ying, 29, who has watched a performance at the site, says: "It's fantastic to watch a show at such a historical site and learn about its history. The performers are also very professional."

Mei says while he has so far used the mountains and the rivers as backgrounds for large-scale performances, this time he used more of the surrounding traditional architecture, colorful lighting and advanced technology.

"The market for tourism performances in China is booming," he says. "Chinese tourists now enjoy night activities and they are also starting to watch performances. The government also attaches importance to this."

Meanwhile, Mei recently signed contracts with Vietnam and is in negotiation with countries such as Italy and Greece to produce real-scenery shows for them.