Wu Yuren | People’s Daily Online | 21st April 2018 | Lhasa

 

In the evening on 20th April, the large-scale outdoor show “Princess Wencheng” was performed for the first time in 2018. There was not a single empty seat in the theatre that can accommodate almost 4000 people. This is the 6th season since its premiere in 2013.

As a profound, artistic and well-made cultural masterpiece, “Princess Wencheng” promotes harmony between the Han and Tibetan peoples and fully represents the artistic essence of Tibetan culture. Tan Gusong, a 65-year-old folk musician and dancer from Inner Mongolia, was thoroughly overwhelmed by it and said, “Having heard a lot about ‘Princess Wencheng’, I finally got to see it today. To describe it as sensational or magnificent would be an understatement. It is simply an epic that has made history.” 

 

Apart from masterful artistic representation through music and dancing, in pursuit of theatrical perfection, there has been a full optimization in aspects like lighting, scenography and plot in the 6th season. Bai Ji, Associate Director and Art Director of “Pincess Wencheng”, pointed out, “Into its 6th year, ‘Princess Wencheng’ has been improved every year, particularly so this year in its presentation. The lighting has been fully upgraded, props and machinery completely updated, costumes substantially increased and part of the plot elaborately refined. As a result, The quality and presentation are much closer to perfection.” 

 

Moreover, the success of “Princess Wencheng” has also helped the local people fight against poverty for a moderately well-off life. 95% of its cast of over 800 is local farmers and herdsmen who, apart from working or farming during the day, perform in the show in the evening and thus earn an additional salary of nearly 4000 RMB, an effective way of income increase. At the same time, Cijuelin Tibetan-style Street and related cultural tourism development have created plenty of jobs.

 

It is reported that, in this year’s Beijing International Film Festival, Usunhome Pictures Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Usunhome Group, held a founding ceremony with the theme  “Show Cultural Confidence by Film & TV”. In association with Beijing Film Academy, Usunhome Pictures is producing Handymen in Tang Dynasty(a provisional name), an epic film against the backdrop of Princess Wencheng’s marriage to the ruler of Tibet for political alliance. This film is intended to be another cultural brand following the large-scale Tibetan culture epic drama “Princess Wencheng”.