The Adventures of Pinnochio has played around 900 times in China, but the children of the middle kingdom have not been able to see a home-grown puppet show based on the iconic Chinese classic, Journey to The West.

The China Puppet Art Troupe has entertained children all over the world with the exploits of the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, in its 40-year-old play Uproar in Heaven.

Now the play has entertained audiences in countries as far flung as Japan, Thailand, India, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, it is returning home for the first time.

The show is based on the first seven chapters of the Journey to the West, which tell the story of how the Monkey King made himself a king equal to Heaven after seeing through a conspiracy planned by Emperor Yu Huang.

Performances are scheduled at the China Puppet Theater on November 18 and 19.

(CRI.com November 14, 2006)