Life

Buddha makes an impression in latest spectacular

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-04 08:04

The latest Impression show explores Buddhism and is set to become a tourist draw in Putuo, Zhejiang province. Provided to China Daily

Impression Putuo, the sixth open-air show from the "golden trio" directing team of Zhang Yimou, Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue, is not actually set on the famous Buddhist island of Putuo, in East China's Zhejiang province - which was a disappointment.

Rather, its premiere on New Year's Eve, was in a small park with a few pavilions, a brook, and Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) painted on a cliff, on the lesser-known island of Zhujiajian, facing Putuo.

Fan says he chose the location because "its natural scenery suits the show" and he did not want it to "interrupt the peace" or cause environmental damage to Putuo.

I liked the previous five Impression shows (on scenic Lijiang River, at the foot of Yulong Snow Mountain, West Lake, on Hainan's seashore and at the base of Wuyi Mountains) because I could enjoy the natural scenery during the day and watch the show at night.

But this time, I thought the set looked much the same as Impression Dahongpao at Wuyi Mountains: a 2,000-seat revolving auditorium surrounded by a small cliff, a brook and some ancient buildings. Like Impression Dahongpao, which opened in March 2010, there were several moving screens showing animation films.

Even so, technically, there has been great progress. The huge screens in front of the auditorium close like a curtain at the theater; while the heavy auditorium revolves so smoothly you are not aware of it unless you look upward and the stars above appear to be moving.

Fan is proud of his screens, with the wooden temple door animations projected on them, and says that when they open and close, this represents the Zen Buddhist idea of one door closing, another opening.

"It is the first time we have done a show exploring Buddhism," Wang says. "We do not persuade people to believe in Buddhism, but we do try to discuss the relationship between Buddhism and human beings."

She says when they visited Putuo seeking inspiration for the show a year ago, they found most people visited to seek help from Buddha.

"But can Buddha or something like that really help? If you can't change the reality, why not just change the view, the angle from which you look at the world? The show tries to say there is no tragic world, just tragic eyes. Seen through beautiful eyes, the world is beautiful," Wang says.

Director Fan adds: "After seeing sacred temples and experiencing the uniqueness of Buddhism in the day time, you can enjoy a 70-minute show and savor the experience."

"The economy is booming and people's material lives have been greatly improved, but spiritually, we have not made so much progress. We artists hope to create something that can communicate with the heart."

Though Impression Putuo did not particularly excite me, as I've seen all the previous versions, the majority of people will be impressed by the beautiful natural scenery, high-tech lighting and visual effects, and the theme songs sung by Taiwan singer/songwriters Lo Ta-yu and Chyi Yu.

I would add that it was so cold on the night I attended that it was hard to concentrate, though performances will take place all year.

I was also shocked to see some of the performers were near naked in a couple of scenes, as they took on the roles of monks and in another scene appeared to walk across the river.

Director Wang says that in rehearsal, five young actors collapsed because they could not bear the cold.

"I asked them, 'Shall we stop?' They answered, 'No!' in unison. I was moved to tears," Wang says.

She says all the 400 performers are local villagers without prior performing experience and she's proud of the fact that every new Impression provides job opportunities to local people.

For the first time, Zhang Yimou is titled artistic consultant, rather than artistic director-in-chief.

In 2002, Zhang was commissioned to do a show at Lijiang River and both Wang and Fan were recommended to help with the choreography. Since then the so-called "golden trio" has produced the shows upon which local politicians and tourist companies have capitalized.

Putuo received 13.6 million tourists in 2010 and tourism revenue was 9 billion yuan ($1.37 billion), but with the Impression show even more visitors are expected.

Insiders know that Zhang has done little or nothing for the most recent show, but his name is still a big attraction, though his new title does suggest that Wang and Fan are the real directors.

The next site for an Impression show will be Wulong, in southeast Chongqing.