This is a 'must see' show, it's a performance involving 200+ performers, mostly on traditional style rafts, I found it simply spectacular, as did my wife & friends. The lighting on the nearby mountains was amazing.
A must see if your in China.
The scale of the show is huge. It is a light show over water and the mountains in the background light up as well. People perform on the water at times over a hundred.
Very well choreographed.
If you had gone to this performance as we did, expecting a re-enactment of some of the very memorable folk songs from the 1960s Chinese musical Liu San Jie 刘三姐, you'd be sorely disappointed. They shouldn't have adopted the Liu San Jie name - it was a true misnomer.
Having said that, the setting was world-class. A huge outdoor theatre set amidst natural landscape, on the magnificent Li River, with the mountains and hills behind as the backdrop. As the sun sets, and the sky darkens, the light show begins.
What's admirable also is that this performance has about 600 local participants, all of whom actually live and work by the Li River.
There is no story line here. It was more a showcase of the everyday life of the Zhuang people. It was a good thing our guide brought us, before the show, to the exhibits outside the theatre, to explain the different colour impressions.
The Fiery Red symbolises the enthusiasm for life as the fisherman laboured for their livelihood. The Calming Green represents the greenery and peace of the hearth. The Shining Gold shows the twinkling lights accompanying the fishing cormorants. Next is a shift to the Romantic Blue which tells the love story of the village girl, San Jie. And finally, the Shimmering Silver, the river in their lives, with 200 Zhuang girls in silver costumes making a line of lights across the bridge on Li River.
There is security check before entering the theatre. Do bring a torch as it may be difficult to find your seats. The audience was not quite as disciplined and our enjoyment of the show was marred by all the chattering and noise in front and behind us. For us, the show was a wonderful display of lights and dance, but just not what we had expected.
I have previously limited my reviews to hotels and restaurants, so this is a first.
The performances, setting, music and choreography were all outstanding and made for a memorable evening.
We were perhaps fortunate that the only available seats were in the VIP section, so we did not experience issues of distraction from late arrivals, chatting etc that others have noted.
We absolutely loved this show and would recommend everyone to see this. Made me cry its so emotional and beautiful. So wonderful to see and hear the songs about the folks cultures
