Pingtan drama wins national funding

Pingtan Impression, a new dance drama by renowned Chinese dancer-choreographer Yang Liping, was recently awarded a grant from the Chinese National Arts Fund.

Established in 2013, the CNAF is a charity set up to promote the arts and cultivate artistic talent in China.

The show shines a spotlight on Pingtan, an island city located off the coast of Fujian and the closet 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, the 100-min-long drama depicts the island city's beauty and originality.

Since its debut in Fuzhou in January last year, it has toured 16 cities in seven provinces nationwide, reaching over 50,000 viewers. As for 2019, 55 sessions are scheduled.

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

According to Wen Ling, producer of the play, winning national funding will entice more public attention to Pingtan, which is an experimental zone for cementing links with Taiwan, a part of the Fujian free trade zone and an international tourism island.

A scene from Pingtan Impression that was recently awarded a grant from the Chinese National Arts Fund [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]