Walt Disney has announced that the Broadway musical, "The Lion King," will be shown at the Shanghai Grand Theater from July 28.

Shanghai will be the only Asian city to host the Tony Award-winning musical.

"We think that the story will resonate with everybody, anywhere in the world," said Stanley Cheung, executive vice-president and managing director of Disney China, at a news briefing on Tuesday.

Three Boeing 747s will transport the set from Melbourne, Australia, and the stage crew for each show will comprise 136 people.

Fang Shizhong, president of the Shanghai Grand Theater, disclosed that his organization had spent 40 million yuan (4.93 million U.S. dollars) to import the musical. Tickets for the first round of 28 shows went on sale on Tuesday in dozens of China's mainland cities, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

President Fang said he hoped the move would advance the development of the musicals business in China.

There are 21 kinds of ticket prices, with the highest fare being 2,000 yuan apiece and the cheapest being 100 yuan for shows on weekdays. The show will last until October.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2006)