Province puts money where its operatic mouth is

In February the five-minute-long dance Tang Dynasty Banquet on Henan TV stood out among galas nationwide for the Spring Festival period. It features 14 dancers from Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater dressed in Tang Dynasty (618-907) costumes.

The dance was inspired by the glazed pottery figurines in Henan Museum, some of whose key collections were included in the performance through augmented reality technology, including an 8,000-year-old bone flute and a bronze wine vessel in the shape of an owl dating back more than 3,000 years.

The dance attracted more than 2 billion views online, and related posts received 500 million clicks on the social networking service Sina Weibo.

In Xiuwu county, Liang Rong, a resident, said he was amazed by the art performances and people in ancient-looking clothes at the first Han costume festival held in the county a year ago.

Han costumes of various styles were presented at the festival, which has been held three times and drawn 300,000 young people to the county.

"These costumes are cool and surprisingly conformable to wear," Liang says.

After trying a few items of clothing on, she says she could not keep her hands off them. She bought three costumes at the festival and decided to open up a Han costume shop herself.

"I noticed many young people in Han attire have begun to show up at local scenic spots since the festival," she says.