A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
The Chongqing 1949 Grand Theatre in Ciqikou ancient town, is one of the world's largest indoor theaters, at 89 meters long, 73 meters wide and 31.6 meters high. It covers an area of 25,000 square meters and can accommodate 1,497 people.
The theater has been specially rigged for the 70-minute show about a group of revolutionaries who were imprisoned in Baigongguan and Zhazidong — two secret prisons of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) used to punish communist revolutionaries at the northern foot of the city's Gele mountains. The communists chose death rather than surrender under the enemy's interrogations and cruel torture.
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949— premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The story ends on liberation day in 1949 in Chongqing, when the People's Liberation Army and local people took control of the city.
Several KMT prisons were supervised by the Sino-American Cooperation Organization, or SACO, which was established secretly in 1943. The United States used it to train and dispatch KMT agents.
On Nov 27, 1949, about two months after Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China on the Tian'anmen Rostrum, SACO agents set fire to the male prison wards at the Zhazidong prison, killing all but 15 who managed to break through a section of wall.
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
In the two prisons, more than 300 communist revolutionaries were killed before the KMT fled to Taiwan. Today, the prisons are memorial sites for communist martyrs.
"It is a totally new version of the traditional stage play," said Zhang Xiaoke, chief planner of Chongqing 1949. Introducing a unique way of viewing, the show was designed with performing spaces of 360 degrees revolving on different tracks in the theater and creating a multidimensional and immersive experience.
"It is a combination of musical drama, dance drama and opera," Zhang said. "We use international stage art to tell this awe-inspiring story of the modern era and cater to a young audience. Montage techniques are also applied."
Producer Song Xiaoping looks forward to the show becoming a cultural brand of the municipality.
"As a private entrepreneur who was born and raised in Ciqikou, I feel a responsibility to create a historical show, to present what was going on here and pay tribute to the Communist Party, which has held our motherland together by breaking free of imperialist powers and bringing its people a good and prosperous life."
The performance project, with a total investment of 800 million yuan ($123.9 million), took three years to complete.
Performances will be staged until Saturday and will open to the public in August.
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A historical stage extravaganza — Chongqing 1949 — premiered in Chongqing on Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
