Impression San Jie Liu

As a reward for volunteering to interview new students over several weekends, the school took us to the highly acclaimed "Impression San Jie Liu" light show, one of the main drawcards of Yangshuo. The show is performed each night on the Li River, and is the largest natural theater stage on the planet. The stage is two kilometers long and the backdrop consists of 12 karst peaks which are colourfully illuminated at times during the show. The show was developed over a period of five years and has more than 600 local performers.

The show gives an impression of the daily life of people living in the Yangshuo area, using traditional costumes, singing and even animals. The main part of the performance is on the water, using an amazing number of rafts and boats. The banks of the river are also used.

Powerful lighting and flaming torches are used to great effect in the night time performance. The climax of the show involves two hundred dancers wearing costumes containing many light bulbs.

The sheer scale of the show is amazing to behold. Our pictures fail to do justice and we were left greatly impressed by the choreography and the imaginative use of the beautiful location.