Yang Liping’s Pingtan Impression is a visually stunning, myth-soaked dance epic about a dragon prince, a sea goddess, and a battle for a sacred island—think swirling silk waves, glowing masks, and next-level folkloric drama. It’s like if Avatar met Chinese opera, with all the spectacle and none of the blue people.

Synopsis

The story originates from the creation myth of Pangu splitting heaven and earth, giving birth to the Nine Provinces, where divine blessings descended and spirits awakened. Among them lies an overseas fairyland—Pingtan Island, shaped like the mythical beast Qilin, hence called "Qilin Island." The islanders live in peace, relying on fishing, guarded by the "Local Deity" Chenghuang and blessed by the "Goddess of the Sea," Mazu.

The White Dragon Prince "Junshan Wang" and the daughter of the sea "Pingtan Lan" meet by chance on the island, fall in love, and join hands with the islanders to weather storms and resist typhoons. In times of peace, they release sky lanterns to pray for prosperity. However, the tranquil and paradisiacal Qilin Island catches the covetous eyes of an ambitious and greedy foreign army. After long plotting, they launch an invasion, igniting a crisis.

From then on, the brave and kind-hearted Junshan Wang and Pingtan Lan, the righteous rattan shield army, benevolent deities, and the ruthless foreign forces together compose a grand classical mythic epic of guardianship and justice on Qilin Island.

About the Play:

Pingtan Impression is the only ocean-themed, ultra-folkloric work directed by artist Yang Liping, crafted against the backdrop of cross-strait culture. Drawing inspiration from the "sea," rooted in the essence of "Lan" (Pingtan), and flourishing in the "soul," it employs a romantic classical mythological narrative to reinterpret and re-express China’s profound traditional folk culture in a contemporary context. Tracing Pingtan’s millennia-old history, it deeply integrates Austronesian culture, Maritime Silk Road culture, and Taiwan Strait culture, constructing a shared maritime cultural landscape and heritage across the strait.

With neo-Oriental aesthetics as its artistic philosophy, blended with intangible cultural heritage, Pingtan Impression is co-created and performed by artists from both sides of the strait. It weaves fantasy and wonder, narrating an epic classical myth rich in Eastern hues, painting an artistic scroll with dance as the brush and culture as the ink, and presenting a monumental stage production of cross-strait cultural exchange and fusion.

As a representative work of neo-Oriental aesthetics, Pingtan Impression not only achieves the artistic pursuit of traditional aesthetics expressed in a modern form but also promotes national cultural identity, deepens cross-strait artistic exchanges, fosters mutual development, and strengthens the spiritual bond between compatriots on both sides.