Located in Yangshuo at the junction of the Li and the Tiangiahe Rivers, is the performance of Impressions, created by Liu Sanjie, the creator of the Beijing's 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony. The setting is the river itself with the craggy outcrops of the limestone Shutong Hill as the backround. The 70 minute night time performance features more than 600 actors and actresses depicting a famous Chinese fable. There is a series of songs, music, and lighting effects that are almost indescribable.
The story is about Liu Sanjie that originates from the Zhuang minority people, the largest of the minority groups in China. It is based on the legend of a woman called Liu Sanjie, who they feel the be a real figure in their history. Had our guide not told the story, we never would have been able to associate it with the performance.
Don't quote us, but we think the story line has it that an abandoned baby girl was plucked from the riverbank. Raised with a young boy, her adoptive father, who was a farmer, treated her like a daughter. And the son, took to her like a sister. However, as time went on, he grew to love her. But times were hard, and the farmer was forced to sell the girl to the wealthy old landlord, who desired the young girl as a concubine. She refused the advances of the landlord, but this is where the story gets fuzzy. Somehow, she ends up dying, and she travels to the heavens and the moon. In his dreams, the heart-broken boy imagines going off with her in the end. Now this may be all wrong, but that is how our guide described it to us.
So, back to the beginning. We met Jeremy and our driver, Hi, at 5:30pm in the hotel lobby. Although he had warned us that the ride might be long, it really was not bad. Probably took us over an hour back to the village of Yangshuo. Bad news, it was drizzling all the way there. We understood that this show goes on, rain or shine, all year long. Oh well, we were dressed for the inclement weather, wearing waterproof jackets and shoes. No umbrellas would be allowed.
We were dropped off as close as Hi could get us. People were coming in buses, vans, taxis, motorbikes, and also by foot to this show. It seemed like we walked forever on a rough rock stony road to get to the ticket office. Good thing we wore shoes with treads, because the stones were slippery. No high heels here. Jeremy purchased the tickets for us, then led us to the venue. The performance was starting a 7:45pm, so we had ½ hour to get to our seats.
Once again, it seemed like miles to walk there, but it was not that far. Just seemed so in the dark. It was like coming into a baseball stadium, with seating for 3700 people. We were all handed a thin plastic poncho, which only one of us put on. It was something short of a miracle, but the drizzling rain had stopped.
We found our way to the mid-section of seating with a fabulous over-all view of the river. In no time, the seats all around us filled up, as did the rest of the seating area. Once Jeremy got us situated in the correct area, he left and said he would gather us when the show was over.
Then at promptly 7:45pm, the lights went out, and the limestone mountains were suddenly lit up. A movie screen in the center of the river showed the daytime view of the river and the peaks on the screen. Suddenly the shadows of the rafts with the rowers began appearing like visions drifting across the screen.
Then the music blasted, and the costumed actors began appearing on the water's edge. Besides the announcer, the first ones to appear were the kids…dozens of them, singing as they entered from both sides. Then boats appeared in the river, with the rowers carrying huge torches. Then the music began in earnest, which literally shook our seats.
It was quite a surreal scene to see the number of torches coming from both sides of the banks, as the kids sang. The story continued, with more and more actors and actresses entering the stage, which was all in the river. What appeared to be long boats, the actors were riding on the traditional rafts, and pulling themselves across with submerged red satin cloth, which they pulled up and down like making waves. Don't know how they did that, but it sure was impressive.
The performance continued for over an hour, with each scene getting better and better. When the girl died, you could see her advancing to a quarter moon, which appeared out of nowhere. Looked like a large banana, but wide enough for a woman to walk on it, and sing.
The audience loved it, and documented every part of the show with their cell phones. Have to admit, it was a distraction, but every person had a phone, so we just got used to it. We enjoyed the show to the very end, when the entire cast came out. With their special lit up costumes, they looked like rows of candles from bank to bank. The music rocked everyone to the core. Very, very well-done. We highly recommend seeing it if you are ever in the area.
Close to 9pm, the show was ended, and people began finding their way to the main road. A funny thing happened before we joined the exodus. A group sitting to our left, began filing past us, when one of them said…we know you. One by one, they passed by us saying hellos and shaking our hands. Would you believe they were the same family group that took our photos on the boat this morning. Small world. What are the odds that we would see them here, and in a crowd of 3700 people, how likely is it that we would be sitting together?
Back to the road, we waited for our car with Jeremy. And would you believe that the rain began falling? What lucky timing was that? Got back inside the car before the rain got heavier. We were back to the hotel in Guilin by 10:30pm, and learned that dinner was over. We could have ordered room service, but that was not a great idea. Not really hungry, we were so tired by then, bed sounded way better of an idea.
And so ended a very nice day. But there is more to come……
Bill & Mary Ann
A few side notes: Orlin and Barbara…good to hear from you. Konnie….we choose where we will go on an overland by checking out the proposed itinerary over a year in advance. Hi Randy and Rosie. Denise and Howard, thanks for your research on the computer gremlins. Sort of makes sense.
The sun eventually peeked out today, but disappeared almost as fast.
View of the sun before it went down
Actually disappeared behind the clouds
Seldom see the sun during the day
Monoliths with the sun setting
A little color in the otherwise gray sky
Villages along the Li River
Heading back towards Yangshuo
Still hazy
Entrance to the performance Impression
Long line for tickets
It was drizzling while we waited
Large pagoda drum tower inside the gates
Wet uneven walkway to the staging area
Waiting at the pagoda drum tower
Sure hope the rain stops
Very pretty in the darkness
However, it was hard to see
Impression: Liu Sanjie
Found our seats
We were located mid-section almost dead-center
There was a large TV screen with real boatmen in the river
River scenery on the screen
Then the lights illuminated the monoliths
What an eerie, but beautiful backdrop
The river was the stage, pinnacles in the backround
The raft with the stars
Floating alone
The fisherman on his raft
Here comes more rafts, fishermen with torches
All of this was set to dramatic loud music
The sound of the drums rumbled our seats
Colorful costuming
Parading across the rafts on the riverbank
Traditional costumes
At least 100 performers here
All coming from the left
Singing Chinese songs
Old style Chinese fashion
Here come the men
They joined together
The parade continued
Now this was beyond description
Each boater was on a raft
Pulling up lengths of red silk hidden in the river
The effect was waves in the water, only red
Surreal sight
No one was getting wet
They pulled themselves along the cloth
The red silk looked like longboats
Here comes the fisherman
Perhaps he found the abandoned baby girl on the banks
Waving after the first act
You can barely see the rafts in the water
They were going back to the shoreline
Changes in colors now
Signifying night time as they sleep
Up at dawn
Going red again
Getting ready to move
Scripted motion
Looks like the sun is rising
And away they went
Guiding the rafts with bamboo sticks
Old way of fishing
The lights on the opposite banks
A village coming to life on the right bank
Performing daily tasks
Busy at work
Bamboo and palms made the design tropical
Boats deliveries to shore
Everyone working
Off-loading the baskets
Getting to be night time again
End of another day
Hard work
Village life, we believe
The day is ending
Time to clean up
Bamboo looks like feathers
Little girls in the performance
They come from local talent schools
Perform for one year
Group of girls singing
Here come the boaters
Long line of actors
