'Journey to the West' composer cheered as hero

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 7, 2016

"Journey to the West" composer Xu Jingqing speaks at a "Journey to the West" musical concert held in Beijing, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The biggest highlight was when the original cast of the TV series went on stage for a reunion to congratulate Xu and greet the audience. "I can't believe I stand with my childhood heroes here today," the female gala host Fang Qiong said.

Zhang Jinlai, whose stage name is Liu Xiao Ling Tong, said he would like to invite Xu to compose for his new Sino-American co-production film of "Journey to the West" again. The film will start filming next year. Zhang played Mon-key King in the TV series and became a household name ever since.

The "Journey to the West" TV series, adapted from a 16th-century novel with the same title, first hit TV screens in 1986. It has been aired more than 3,000 times on China Central Television (CCTV) and other local TV networks and is a cornerstone of the nation's pop culture.

But Xu's dream to hold such a music concert encountered a lot of setbacks when he tried to find sponsors. This year he finally found partners to do it through online crowd-funding.

The composer shook hundreds of supporters' hands after the show was over with many yelling "thank you" to him.

Xu responded with "thank you," and told them he would like to make a new musical next year and the "Journey to the West" will tour more cities in China.

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