Jinsha, China's most expensive and lavish musical to date, is set to embark on its nationwide tour on December 7 in Chongqing.

The musical cost 16 million yuan (nearly US$2 million) to produce.

Its run at Beijing's Poly Theater from April 8 to 10 captured the attention of many a theater fan. On May 22, the musical started its daily run at Chengdu's Jinsha International Theater.

But from December 7, the cast and crew take the show out of its native Sichuan, bringing the province's 3,000 year-old culture and history to national audiences.

Five performances, featuring a stellar cast including Zheng Di and Tan Weiwei, will be staged in Chongqing from December 7 to 11 at the Theater of Working Peoples' Cultural Palace.

The four-act musical tells the story of a girl called Jin who is turned into a phoenix and Sha, a young archaeologist who is working at the site of the Jinsha Ruins.
 
The Jinsha Ruins were accidentally discovered by a construction worker in the western suburbs of Jinsha Village, Chengdu, in February 2001. The vast majority of artifacts unearthed were dated to the late Shang Dynasty (C.1600-C.1100 B.C.), the early Western Zhou Dynasty (C.1100-771 B.C.) and the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476 B.C.).

Numerous pieces of jade, gold, ivory and porcelain were excavated. One of the most precious finds was a piece of round gold foil with a sun in its center depicting rays of light and four vivid flying phoenixes flying out in four directions.

San Bao, one of China's more accomplished composers, was amazed and inspired by the relics when he visited Jinsha Ruins in April 2004.

"I believe something special must have happened here in this 5-square-kilometer area three thousand years ago. As I walked around the ruins, it seemed that every piece of gold or jade piece was telling a story," he said.

The romance between Jin and Sha catapults them across space and time from the ancient kingdom of 3,000 years ago to the 21st century.

San Bao composed 25 songs for the musical. He pointed out that he did not want to limit the music to the folk styles of Sichuan. It's a show to be appreciated by audiences across China and the world.

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, December 7, 2005)