"The Lotus of Three Rivers," a grand folk acrobatic singing and dancing theater show, kicked off June 16 in the Lotus World, a tourist resort in Sanshui, Guangdong Province, where it was received by more than 1,000 viewers.

June is the best time to see lotus blossoms in Sanshui, and in the Lotus Theater of the Lotus World, an acrobatic singing and dancing show is telling a moving folk story about a legendary Lotus Fairy.

The story says that on the day of the Lantern Festival on January 15 of Chinese lunar calendar, the Lotus Fairy turned into a rural girl to attend the temple fair in Sanshui and ran into a local youth who lived on growing lotus-roots. They fell in love at the first sight, but later a Black-wind Monster abducted the Lotus Fairy. After conquering countless difficulties and with the help of others, the young man finally succeeded in rescuing his beloved fairy and they lived a happy life together thereafter.

Based on a folk story originated from Guangdong Province, the 50-mintuite "The Lotus of Three Rivers" show involves multiple forms of art, including singing, dancing, acrobatics, ballet, a local lion dance and many others.

The show also employs the performance of the Xianshui Song (meaning Salty Water Song), which has been proclaimed a masterpiece of the Chinese intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, although being a show publicising folk culture in southeastern China, "The Lotus of Three Rivers" even attracts the viewers with amusing modern Western art performances, for instance, fairies dance the tango and Black-wind Monsters offer a tap dance.

The director of the "The Lotus of Three Rivers" show said that to adapt a folk story into a show is not to simply copy the original story and strictly stick to its style. Rather, the director believes that creative renovation and involvement of modern artistic elements into the show can better present a folk story.

The production of "The Lotus of Three Rivers" show has cost around a million yuan and taken nearly two years. There are 68 actors of an average age of 18 participating in the show, and "The Lotus of Three Rivers" will now be a regularly-featured performance at Lotus World.

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