Ambassadors and counselors from eight embassies in Beijing watched the Chinese dance drama, Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting, at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Aug 13 and 14.

The dance drama, which premiered at the same venue a year ago and has become one of the most successful dance dramas in China, was directed and choreographed by Zhou Liya and Han Zhen, both from the China Oriental Performing Arts Group.

Performed by dancers of the Beijing-based company, the dance drama was inspired by the classic Chinese painting, A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, by the artist Wang Ximeng during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important works in the history of Chinese fine art history. The 11-meter-long scroll painting is a record of people's lives and the natural scenery of that time, mixing realism with creative imagination. There are mountains, rivers, villages, ports, temples and pavilions. The painting is housed at the Palace Museum.

The creative team visited the Palace Museum and invited experts from the museum to be the dance drama's consultants. The two-hour-long dance drama portrays the painting's beauty through traditional Chinese dance movements.

Since its premiere, the dance drama tours around the country to sold-out shows.

"I have been in China for about three years and China has many great performances. This is the best I have ever seen in terms of quality, artistry and the beauty of the scenes and costumes. It has great performances from the dancers, tries to tell the history of China, the traditional culture of China and the techniques," said ambassador of Thailand to China, Arthayudh Srisamoot, who watched the dance drama at the NCPA on Aug 14.

"This show should not only be seen in China but also been watched by people from around the world," he added.

Samuel Abikunda, commercial counselor from Rwandan embassy, watched the dance drama at the NCPA on Aug 13.

"This is the first time that I have watched the dance drama, which is a great show. It really presents this masterpiece by Wang Ximeng with details of the painting displayed by the dancers," said Abikunda. "I don't know how long they've performed the show but everything is amazing, such as the stage set, the lights and the music. I believe it certainly deserves to be watched by more people around the world. I plan to come back to the show with my friends."

"I particularly love the costumes in the show, especially the colors of blue and green," said Erika Lizardo, deputy chief of mission of the embassy of Peru, who also watched the show for the first time on Aug 13.

Anna-stiina Antola, counselor for agriculture, food, and veterinary affairs at the embassy of Finland, said: "I love the opening part of the show very much, which has segments from the painting by Wang Ximeng vividly displayed onstage, such as the moving mountains. In one scene, the female dancers showed solid skills, especially when they did a dramatic back bend, which was very impressive."

Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum in Beijing, who retired in 2019, said that he was glad that the painting could be enjoyed by contemporary audience through dance drama, which "is a great way for ancient Chinese masterpieces to connect and communicate with people living in the contemporary world".