Impression Putuo show (Zhang Yanhui)

Uniqueness

In traditional tourism, tourists visit sites with natural beauty or cultural significance, but these visits seldom leave a deep impression on tourists and often fail to resonate with them in a meaningful way. But unlike traditional tourism, virtual landscape performances combine natural landscapes and culture, offering viewers a more memorable experience. By performing folk tales and legends in a natural "theater," these shows have created a new cultural tourism product.

"This is my first time watching a performance like this," said a tourist surnamed Yin from Beijing. "It's so great to watch a show that unites man and nature, especially in a place with beautiful natural scenery like Zhangjiajie."

Another important feature of virtual landscape performances is that each performance is unique. In the Impression Liu Sanjie show, the auditorium is set on terrace, and the view changes with the seasons. Based on different weather, like sunny, rainy and foggy, the show has different versions for each of the four seasons. It also makes adjustments according to the water flow and level of the Lijiang River so that each performance is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, making the show more surprising and enjoyable for the audience.

Economy and ecology

Because they rely on the local environment to act as their stage, virtual landscape performances help ecological protection efforts. "Zhangjiajie has a good ecological environment. The amount of negative oxygen ions here is much higher than in other regions, making it a natural oxygen bar," said Zhou. The Impression Liu Sanjie show directors have taken a number of measures to help protect the pristine environment on which the show depends, including using eco-friendly facilities such as water-saving toilets.

While leaving little environmental impact, virtual landscape performances contribute significantly to the local tourism industry and the local economy as a whole. Since 2003, ticket sales for the Impression Liu Sanjie have totaled 150 million yuan ($24 million). Fox Spirit in Tianmen has also achieved great financial success in Hunan. According to Xie, the show has been performed over 980 times since 2010, when ticket sales reached 43 million yuan ($7 million), a figure that was nearly doubled in 2011 to 80 million yuan ($13 million).

But virtual landscape performances don't simply make money; they also create jobs. Each performance of the Impression Liu Sanjie show includes around 500 actors, which not only created hundreds of jobs, but also creates business for companies that make costumes, props, lighting and other performance facilities.

But not every dramatic performance can be a success. Xie and his team have produced 11 virtual landscape performances. He believes that the key to success is the integration of nature and culture, which means combining local landscape with local stories.

Xie is very positive about the future of virtual landscape performances. "There are ongoing negotiations for cooperative projects with teams from Viet Nam, Singapore and Malaysia, who want to adapt Chinese-style virtual landscape performances to their local environments."

According to Xie, China's tourism industry just experienced a tough year, but revenues from Fox Spirit in Tianmen are still on the rise. "Because we have established a good platform that has been widely recognized," said Xie. 

cuixiaoqin@chinafrica.cn