Echoes of Shangri-La

Basic Information:

Echoes of Shangri-La or The Sound of Yunnan Show(云南的响声) is designed and directed by Yang Liping, the show is about all kinds of sounds that performed by ethnic minorities in Yunnan, such as Hani, Tibetan,Bai, Naxi and so on. The performance is mainly based on the daily life of Yunnan ethnic minorities, using the most primitive instruments, musical instruments, bamboo leaves with the actors’simple voice and passionate performance, divided into several paragraphs for us to present a splendid feast of original ecological songs and dances full of strong national characteristics. As the old saying said: every leaf can dance and every stone can sing in Yunnan, even the butterflies wave their wings can form rhythm. 

Location:

Yunling Theater, No. 183, Minzhu Road, Old Town of Lijiang

Showtime:

from 18:30 to 17: 45, from 20:15 to 21:30 (be care for the time, sometimes time may changed)

Tickets Price:

( You can book it on the Internet or in the entrance of the theatre)

Highlights:

•   In this show, you will be able to see the different subjects used to make the various sounds, there are several hundreds of “folk musical instruments” included in this show;   
•   You  will see that everything that can be held by the hand or mouth;     
•   You will enjoy the  rich ethnic culture of Yunnan, because the shows are performed by ethnic minoritie.

Actors:

“The Sound of Yunnan” is directed by dance artist Yang Liping, and the actors are also native minorities. Yang Liping, a famous dancer in Yunnan Province, once again acted as the director-in-chief and leading actor of Yunnan Sound, a large-scale evolutionary percussion dance, a famous Yunnan musician, to act as music director. Actors and actresses are really self-employed and hard-working. They are proficient in all kinds of martial arts. Their musical instruments are available everywhere in the mountains and in the countryside. Their self-made solo-stringed piano, from head to foot, is all made of bamboo, the tone is very sad. Their drums can pour out wine, while playing drums and drinking. They can use some very simple tools to move the sound of water, wind, rain and thunder to the stage.

How to Get there:

•  Rent  a vehicle to the theater, this is the quickest and the most direct option
• Take Bus 3,4,6,9 and bus 20 to the Stop of Red Sun Square(红太阳剧场), then walk to the theater.           

Content:

Preface:

Fetal Sound(胎音) The prelude to Yunnan’s Sound is played with a alms bowl. This is because the sound of the bowl is the resonance of human and human, God and human, heart and heart, and the fetal sound of every new life in the mother’s womb.

 Act one:

Offering  sacrifice to goods or ancestors(祭祀)Each nation has its own unique sacrificial drum music

Act two:

love Song of Naxi ethnic minority(纳西情歌)Naxi girls and boys convey their love  in simple and affectionate tunes

Act three:

Sun ang Rain(太阳雨) They call for wind and rain. They imitate the sounds of nature.

Act four: 

Beating without Discrimination(乱打)Pots and pans, bottles and cans, objects in production and life are the basis for inspiration.

Act five:

Sparrow God and Strange Bird(雀神怪鸟) It is Yunnan dialect which means strange. Anything that can make a sound can become an instrument.

Act  six:

Cockfighting   (斗鸡)Two cocks are fond of fighting.

Act seven:

Drunk Drums(喝醉了的鼓)Men will become the most handsome, women will become the most beautiful, people who are usually silent will become eloquent, people who are usually sad will become happy when they drink too much wine.

Epilogue……(尾声)

Chinese Version: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BA%91%E5%8D%97%E7%9A%84%E5%93%8D%E5%A3%B0
Translated by  Lynette Fu/付云锐