No Return (Po Fu Chen Zhou), a historical epic featuring the heart-wrenching story of the rise and fall of an ancient heroic general, is now screening at digital cinemas across China.

Xiang Yu is a leader of the peasants' uprising that overthrew the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first feudal dynasty in ancient China.

In 202 BC, Xiang was besieged by the troops of another peasants' uprising leader, Liu Bang, who later established the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

The struggle was resolved when Xiang was finally defeated by Liu and had his throat cut. Xiang's concubine Yu Ji also died for love.

But instead of focusing on the battle of Gai Xia, the movie chooses to tell Xiang's story from another perspective -- the battle of Ju Lu, which helped Xiang expand his troops and influence.

The movie, starring famous actors Hu Jun and Xiao Rongsheng, Taiwan actress Wu Qien-lien and Hong Kong actress Yang Kung Ru, is produced by the Movie Channel of the China Central Television.

According to Yang Yubing, the general producer, No Return is the first of a series of 21 digital movies featuring on the peasants' uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty.

Xiang Yu's story has been adapted many times. Two of the most famous versions are Mei Lanfang (1894-1961)'s Peking Opera version and the 1992 movie Farewell My Concubine, directed by Chen Kaige and starring Leslie Cheung and Gong Li, which won a Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.

(China Daily February 25, 2005)