Pingtan Impression stuns Shanghai audience

A scene of the Pingtan Impression, Yang Liping's latest dance drama that has been staged in Shanghai on Sept 1-3 [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Pingtan Impression, a dance drama choreographed and directed by renowned Chinese dancer Yang Liping, was staged in the Shanghai International Dancing Center on Sept 1-3.

Yang is famed for appearing in the performance art show Dynamic Yunnan, which has toured all across China, selling out many large venues.

Her latest dance drama-Pingtan Impression-shines a spotlight on Pingtan, an island city located off the coast of Fujian and also the closest place on the mainland to Taiwan.

Weaving together different strands from the city's traditional folk culture, such as snippets of local dialect, legends, puppet and marionette shows, dragon-lion dances, and recreations of the local ritual of paying homage to Matsu, goddesses of the sea, the 100-min-long show depicts the island city's beauty and originality.

It mainly tells of a legendary love story happened between Junshanwang, Pingtan's ancestor and Pingtanlan, the daughter of sea, revolving around the plots like how they falling in love with each other and fighting against invaders.

After Shanghai, the show is set to continue to tour at home and abroad. Its overseas part will be conducted in accordance with the Austronesians' migration routes, as Pingtan is believed to be the home of the ancestors of the Austronesians, according to a recent scientific research.

The Austronesian language family includes those spoken by hundreds of millions of people in maritime Southeast Asia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands, Madagascar, etc.