The Chinese Mermaid stage play Photo: Courtesy of CLEC

As a scene of the deep blue ocean unrolled on the stage, American students from Montana and California imbued the most recent mermaid performance in Beijing with a positive youthful vibe. But instead of Disney's Little Mermaid story, what they brought to life on stage was a tale from Chinese folklore.

Starring 15 youth performers from the US speaking Chinese, the youngest just 12, the Chinese Mermaid was unveiled at the China National Theater for Children in Beijing on Sunday.

The performance is part of the China-US Youth Theater Exchange Program, a "Chinese+Theater" Program hosted by Center for Language Education and Cooperation. 

The educational activities will provide more opportunities for students from the US to learn Chinese and increase understanding of Chinese culture, promoting bilateral educational cooperation and strengthening cultural exchanges between the two countries.

It's among the first non-­governmental level cultural exchange activities between China and the US to have restarted here in Beijing in the last several years.

The Chinese Mermaid stage play Photo: Courtesy of CLEC

After participating in Chinese language lessons and dance practices ­every week under the guidance of their ­Chinese language teacher and artists, it took the students more than a year to rehearse the new version of the Chinese Mermaid.

The Chinese Mermaid was first adapted from Chinese folklore by the China National Theater for Children in the 1970s. 

It tells the tale of kind-hearted girl Cai Ping who was captured brought to the bottom of the sea by a dragon prince and forced to become a mermaid, and a boy called Jin Zhuzi, who after meeting her on the beach collecting shells, promised to help her escape and become human again.

The high-tech stage boasts a huge digital screen, providing an atmospheric rendering of the ocean, and a circular rotating lift at center stage to evoke the connection between the land and the ocean. 

Some of the students come from the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater in ­Missoula, Montana. 

Some of the troupe have visited ­China several times since 2008, and has ­traveled to Shaanxi and Henan provinces, as well as Beijing. 

Jing Wei, Deputy Director General of Center for Language Education and Cooperation (fourth from middle left), issues a certificate of "China-US international Chinese language education exchange youth ambassador" for the students on July 16. Photo: Courtesy of CLEC

Chen Suhan, program director, told the Global Times that this is first time that all the 15 girls from the US have been to China, and they will also travel to Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi ­Province in the following nine days they stay in the country. 

"Being here is a chance for me to absorb the culture, learn the language with an immersive style, and we also got the chance to eat all the local foods here and visit the historical sites," Amare Swierc, who plays the mermaid, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"It's made China such a special experience for me." ­

Having studied dance for 11 years, Swierc said that she started the audition process one year ago before she was ­offered the Chinese language classes. 

"We only learned Chinese language through this script for several months, which was a challenge, but it definitely helped arouse my interest in Chinese culture," said Swierc, adding that it was her first experience of the Chinese language.

The program invited nearly 500 students from primary and high schools and universities across Beijing to be in the audience, after which a salon was held for the students from the two sides to share their ideas about the performance, language learning, as well as cultural exchanges.

This program will last until July 24, before the troupe wraps up their performance in Xi'an.