Picturesque Guilin IV: Impression Sanjie Liu

If you have a tour of Guilin, the Impression Sanjie Liu should be a must-see attraction, which is directed by the famous director, Mr Zhang Yimou. I'm sure you will be impressed by the performance. In the article, we will talk about the Impression Sanjie Liu.

Chapter Four

Impression Sanjie Liu

Comments from the audiences on some travel blogs about Impression Sanjie Liu

I was deeply moved and inspired by the show. It taught me that there are many different ways to make a difference, and you just have to be creative!
-----Helen Wang May 7, 2007

I watched the performance last week when I traveled to Guilin. I was shocked by the beauty of the moving picture in front of me, but failed find a single suitable word to describe it to my students. I showed them your article, and the students love it very much. It's good description and comment on Impression Liu Sanjie.
-----Veronica Lee May 10, 2007

Singing

The large-scale performance The Impressional Sanjie Liu is the core project of The Li River Mountain-Water Theatre, it was invested by GuiLin Guangwei Wenhua Tourism and Culture Co.Ltd.，and took 5 years to completed．

This performance expresses the beautiful scenery of the Li River，the colorful culture of the ethnic groups in Guangxi and the brave imagination of the excellent artists in China，it is the first of its kind the word.

The performance regards the Impression Sanjie Liu as the general theme，and creatively combines the classical Sanjie Liu's Songs，ethnic groups’ culture and the fishing lights together，to reflect the harmonious atmosphere between human beings and the nature．The performance lasts for 70 minutes and 600 plus actors and actress are involved．

Impression Sanjie Liu is a sensational night show performed in the largest natural theatre in the world. Boundless sky and 12 peaks about 2km along Li River compose the stage of mountain and river backdrops.

Show on the River

This is a totally different performance from the conventional form. The theater is the nature itself. The sceneries of the four seasons are changing, the weather is changing, so does the performance is changing to match up with the changeable nature. 

In this stage, only the half of the performance is created by man, and the other half is belonged to the mysterious nature.

If it were raining during the performance, you can put on the raincoat that we prepare for you, if you came here in the hot summer, you have to take the anti-mosquito spray with you, if there were flood, half of the auditorium probably could be under the water, and if there were thunderstorm, the performance could be ceased. This is our performance—a performance interacting with the nature.

Sanjie Liu is the singing goddess in the legend of ethnic group of Zhuang. In 1961, there was a film made with the same title as her name "Sanjie Liu" which has been a classic and popular music film in China from then on. 

In the play “Impression Sanjie Liu”, you won't see the plots, the characters and the usual scenes, but rather a series of impressions, and those impressions are got from the landscapes and the ordinary life of the place, Because Sanjie Liu was born and bred from this magic land, her legend radiates the wonderful atmosphere of this place and naivety of the local people.

Fisherman/Hillman/Actor

There are more than 600 people involved in this play. Most of them are fishermen from the 5 villages along the river. They work in the river in the daytime, and participates the performance in the evening with their bamboo rafts. 

Torch

Some of the performers are the little singers from the villages of ethnic group of Dong and the young girls of other ethnic minorities group .They sing with the nature and untrained voices and dance with spontaneous style. In the gorgeous landscape, they are extraordinary beautiful and brilliant.

The play was presented to the audiences formally on Mar.20.2004.After saw the play, the officers of the world tourism organization commended. "This is a unique play, you can't see it nowhere the world but here. And it's worth to buy a round-trip air ticket from anywhere in the world only to see the play."

Above all, the fantastic night entertainment show-Impression Liu Sanjiein has been performed in the natural scenic setting in Yangshuo these years. It is popular with tourists across the world. The "Legend of Liu Sanjie" is well-known amid Chinese people. That is what let the legendary Liu Sanjie come out from a story, from a movie and be performing on a real stage.

The performance has paid much attention to environmental protection and offer portable toilets at the venue. Ever since the premiere on March 20, 2004, the performance has been performed every two or three days. What's more different is that this creative musical show is actually a poverty-alleviation project. The average income for the farmers there is less than $10 a month. 

Dancing

Thousands of people from the surrounding villages participated in the show. Each show employs 600 local village performers. Each person received $3 for the performance s/he attended. It attracts the significant amount of tourists to the area. The tickets cost anywhere between $20--$80. This is absolutely a world-class show - as someone said: "a masterpiece by the Creator and man."

Travel Tips for Watching Impression Sanjie Liu

Plan A - Take a golf car: a type of public transportation service in old town of Yangshuo, pickup place for the show is at the front door of Yangshuo Pradise Ressort, the golf car can take 9 persons one time, and it cost RMB 20-30 one way to the show place, you can pay the driver RMB 20-30, ask the driver to go right away; or you might wait for other passengers, and share the cost together.  When the show finishs, it will be difficult sometimes to find a golf car to go back to the hotel, you might need to walk 40 minutes. 

Plan B - Show + round trip transfers: ask your tour consultant or your tour guide to reserve the ticket, and the cost is USD 33 per person,  the tour guide will find the seat for you, escort you to find the car when the show ends, and driver will be waiting for you to take you back to the hotel.  It is expensive because you have to pay the overtime work cost for the tour guide and driver.