A Mere Touch of Green is staged at China National Opera House in Beijing on February 29, 2024. Photo: VCG

The poetry dance performance A Mere Touch of Green - A Choreographed Portrait of A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers concluded its 500th performance in Shanghai on Wednesday night. Featuring choreography based on the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) silk scroll paining A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the show has toured to 60 cities since its debut in 2021.

The story of A Mere Touch of Green began in 2017 when Han Zhen and Zhou Liya, the show's two directors, first saw the painting A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains in Beijing's Palace Museum. Marveling at the greatness of the painting and the splendid landscape, the two decided to stage the painting as a live performance.

Paying tribute to Chinese traditional culture and its creators and inheritors, the dance drama brings audiences into China's legendary past through the artistic expression of dance and traditional poetry.

"I've watched more than 70 shows!" said one audience member after watching the 500th performance. Some audiences see the dance drama as a travel partner with whom they have traveled to many places. One of them, Dandan, has followed the drama for over two years.

"It is our important job to explain and introduce more excellent cultural works with Chinese characteristics, embodying the Chinese spirit and containing Chinese wisdom to the world," said Jing Xiaoyong, Party chief and chairman of the China Oriental Performing Arts Group.

Photo: Courtesy of China Oriental Performing Arts Group

Currently, A Mere Touch of Green is working towards the goal of 1,000 shows. After its Singapore tour in March, the dance drama is set to tour Turkey, Canada, Russia and Japan.

Why can a dance drama about a Northern Song Dynasty painting enter the hearts of contemporary young people?

Behind the "green craze" is a profound reflection of young people's love for China's excellent traditional culture. On the stage, a researcher from the Forbidden City and a painter from the Northern Song Dynasty travel through time and space to come face to face with each other. The ambition of the painter to "paint this together with Heaven and Earth" and the museum worker's desire to "adhere to traditional culture" are connected at this moment.

"With the connection of hearts that spans thousands of years, A Mere Touch of Green has become a contemporary theme that is closely relevant to today's people," said director Han Zhen.