Impressions of Sanjie Liu show

I wasn't altogether fussed by going to the show I have to say.  I fancied a quiet dinner and a sunset walk round the village where we were staying but the tickets were bought so off we went. 

I was expecting some sort of tacky light show with high pitched warbling Chinese music.  The show is absolutely stunning.  A true spectacular!  

The whole thing is put together by the same guy who did the opening ceremony to the Beijing Olympics (This seems to be a water-tight badge of his brilliance as far as the Chinese are concerned!) and has over 600 performers.  It is billed as using the mountains as a backdrop for the lights.  Hence my concern for some sort of terrible floodlit affair.  However, it's night so you can't really see the mountains and it is the spectacle of the 600 performers on the water that makes. it.

As you can see from above and below, much of the cast is made up of local fishermen. Who perform on the traditional fishing rafts that they punt up and down the river.  This seems a much better way of keeping traditional identities alive: By re-interpreting the skills and traditions and being creative in how they are displayed to tourists, as opposed to those faintly uncomfortable displays of a traditional dance/song that is long extinct apart from as entertainment for tourists.  More dignity this way (IMHO) 

Anywho, the fisherman line up standing on their rafts and lift these huge long sheets of fabric up out of the water.  The effect is quite mesmerising!

Performers leave the 'stage'

The 'story' is based on a Chinese folk story.  There, that's all I know.  No idea what was going on but it was good to watch.  Judging by the amount of chattering going on around us I am not too sure that many of the Chinese were following the plot too closely either.
It was some sort of love story between a fisherman and a princess (Or something completely different, but who knows?).  The fisherman rhythmically casting their nets were impressive.

The story finishes with water nymphs dancing and this woman who may have been the heroine, but again, who knows, dancing on a moon that rocked back and forward and then fishermen whisked her off, or something!  I perhaps should have researched the story beforehand and then I might have understood what the hell was going on, but hey.