The sounds of brook, wind, waves of trees and insects, accompanied with Chinese poems, echo from a landscape view performance at a valley in Songshan Mountain, seven kilometers away from Shaolin Temple, in Henan Province.

The large performance dubbed Zen Shaolin, with an 11.5 million yuan budget, was unveiled to tourists on Thursday night after two years of preparation.

The rolling stones of Songshan Mountain are used as instruments, the brooks as the strings and the natural breeze as the wind instruments, the valley was made into a three dimensional room filled with visually moving music.

Accompanied by the Buddhist music composed by Chinese musician Tan Dun, the show eloquently presents natural scenes like the temple in the snowy night, meditation in the brook valley, Shaolin kungfu and a girl shepherd coming back home.

With almost 600 performers, the show is divided into five parts, leading audiences to receive a glimpse of the essence of Zen.

Besides the award-winning musician Tan Dun, the show also boasts renowned Chinese screenwriter Mei Shuaiyuan and dance artist Huang Doudou as its director and dance designer.

The abbot of Shaolin Temple Shi Yongxin and writer Yi Zhongtian are invited as advisors to the show.

The performance is expected to become another good option for tourists coming to Shaolin Temple.

 
(CRI.cn May 25, 2007)