A daughter's return

According to Zhao Tiechun, from May to July, art troupes from across the country will perform 86 shows at the NCPA with their theatrical productions dedicated to the centenary celebrations of the CPC.

Highlights will see Shanghai Opera House's operatic production, Jiang Jie, based on the nationally known Communist heroine, The White-Haired Girl, an opera by China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater and a play, titled Ordinary World, adapted from writer Lu Yao's realistic novel with the same title by Shaanxi People's Arts Theater. It records the dramatic changes in the Chinese countryside from 1975-85. Then there will be the Shanghai Ballet's dance piece, Bright Red Star, based on a 1974 movie of the same name about Pan Dongzi, a teenage boy who follows his Red Army officer father to fight in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

"We will invite students and teachers in Beijing to enjoy the shows. Though the stories portrayed in those theatrical productions are from decades ago, we want the younger generations to learn about the history and the heroes," says Zhao Tiechun.

As well as live performances, online screenings and charity performances will be launched, bringing those classic works closer to audiences.

Recordings of five original theatrical productions by the NCPA, including opera Fang Zhimin, telling the story of a revolutionary martyr, and the award-winning dance drama, The Railway to Tibet, which pays tribute to the landmark project of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest and longest rail line crossing a single plateau, will be released as a compilation by the NCPA to mark the 100th anniversary of the CPC.