"Impression Hainan Island" debuts in Haikou, Hainan Province, on Monday, March 16, 2009. [sina.com]

After his highly acclaimed Olympics opening ceremonies, Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou is going back to live performance, directing a series of musical shows tailor-made for China's popular tourism destinations.

On Monday night, the latest production of the series, "Impression Hainan Island", debuted in Haikou, the capital city of the Chinese Hawaii.

As the lights and music went on, a group of bikini-clad girls entered the stage, laughing and frolicking on a sandy beach. A young man appeared and exclaimed: "I'm at the Seaside!" Magically water splashed about, blue sea emerged on the stage, and applauses and screams from the audience filled the half open-air Haidan Theater.

Staged upon the seashore, the 70-minute show was a spectacle of light, music, dance and theatrics. Using the sea and its surroundings for scenery and lighting, hundreds of actors created a sensational performance, which won applause nearly every five minutes.

The performance will run for the following couple of weeks. Adjustments will be made according to the audience's responses, before the show formally premieres in April during the Boao Forum for Asia.

Zhang Yimou's previous three "Impression" shows include "Impression Liu Sanjie" (2004) in Guilin, Guangxi Province, "Impression Lijiang" (2006) in Lijiang, Yunan Province and "Impression West Lake" (2007) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. All combine unique local scenes, legends and spectacle folk performances and are staged periodically in specially-constructed outdoor venues.

His fifth project, "Impression Dahongpao", which incarnates the Chinese tea culture, is also in the preparatory stage. It is scheduled to premiere next October at the Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province.

(CRI March 18, 2009)