"After two years of preparation, High School Musical: China is destined to pioneer a new genre for young Chinese moviegoers by seamlessly combining the art forms of dance, music and film together with popular themes like teamwork, youthful energy and friendship," Wang said.

High School Musical: China tells the story of a new student at an international school who meets a gifted young man with whom she shares a secret passion for singing. With the help of their friends, they win an inter-school singing competition and discover their true calling in the process.

Though with a similar story line to the original film, director Chen Shizheng emphasized that the adaptation will not simply be copy of the US production.

A leading stage and film director, Chen is no stranger to combining different art forms. Having directed numerous Chinese and Western operas and musicals, his 19-hour production of Peking Opera The Peony Pavilion in 1999 was hailed as one of the most significant theatrical events of the 20th Century. His feature film debut Dark Matter in 2007, starring Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice) and Liu Ye (Lan Yu), won the Alfred P. Sloan Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Chen also acknowledged that musical films were not usually well received in China, but he would try his best. "I believe filmmakers have to change the market, not adapt to it instead."

One of the major differences between the Chinese version and the original is the age and talent of the cast. The average age of the local cast exceeds 24, while its US counterpart found success with most actors under the age of 20. Chen dodged media questions about the seemingly too-old cast, simply saying that the international school setting is vaguely between high school and college.

Another issue in question is the level of talent of the actors chosen. The cast of High School Musical: China was selected from 3,000 hopefuls, according to the production team. However, two of the six young Chinese actors are coincidently former winners of SMG's reality show Lycra Talent Show.

Zhang Junning, having starred in a few local TV series and with a few supporting roles in film under his belt, will play the lead, similar to the role of Troy Bolton played by Zac Efron in the US. Efron quickly rose to fame after his role in the film. Similar to Efron, Zhang cuts a slim figure and has good looks, but his ability to dance and sing to the same caliber as Efron, leaves a lot to be desired.

Zhang said they have been training for two months already, but from their performance at the press conference Sunday, they clearly need much more training to catch up with the original cast.

High School Musical: China will premiere in China in July. According to Wang, the box office will determine sequels like the original series.