The dance drama Five Stars Rise in the East Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Performing Arts Group

The dance drama Five Stars Rise in the East has returned to Beijing for a three-night performance at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from Friday to Sunday after a tour of over 80 performances across the country.
 
The drama was inspired by a Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) brocade armband embroidered with the words "Five stars rise in the east, benefiting China," which was unearthed in the Hotan Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
 
At the ongoing Beijing Performance Season, 39 dramas are staged by the Beijing Performing Arts Group.
 
Dong Ning, deputy general manager of Beijing Performing Arts Group, said in an interview that the group will continue to contribute to the building of Beijing as a capital of the performing arts.  
 
Wang Yichuan, vice chairman of the Chinese Literary Critics Association, said: "The dance drama reflects the achievements of the construction of a national cultural center. It can be called a representative work of the development of Beijing's literature and art in the new era. The success of the play lies in the fact that the creative team opened up a multi-faceted dance art landscape around the brocade armbands. The spiritual connotation and cultural expression contained in the cultural relics are conveyed to the audience in the form of artistic recreation."