2023 Kunlun’s Appointment Reservation Booking Phone Number – Kunlun’s Appointment Ticket Prices – Booking – Address
Reservation phone number for Kunlun’s Pact: 181-3962-2229 Same as WeChat 0991-8585456
Kunlun’s Appointment Tickets – Click to Book
First Act: The Appointment at Kunlun
The first act mainly tells about the prosperity of the period of King Zhou Mu and the reason for his determination to travel thousands of miles westward to fulfill the appointment at Kunlun. To fulfill the agreement between his ancestor the Yellow Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West, King Zhou Mu took the golden bell and traveled thousands of miles to Kunlun. During the performance, the huge palace set combined with bronze musical instrument props such as chime bells and stone chimes jointly created the concept of ‘The King’s Space’. On a tall wine goblet, four large characters flowed out like wine: ‘This is China’. This is also the introduction and the finishing touch of the entire play. Through a powerful narration in a combination of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese, the audience is quickly immersed in the storyline.
The setting of chime bells and stone chimes is very charming. When the music of Shao leisurely sounds, the lights focus on King Zhou Mu in the grand hall. From the audience’s perspective, the entire palace and set design are visible, creating a magnificent scene. In the scene where the vassal states come to pay tribute, among the more than 20,000 square meters of stage, people portraying ancient tribes such as the Yue, Guifang, Quanrong, Guzhu, and Xu Yi gallop from the right side of the stage. As the narrator’s voice sounds, quoting from ‘The Spring and Autumn Annals – Zuo Zhuan Justice’, ‘Those with beautiful clothes are called Hua, and those with grand rituals are called Xia’, the audience on site cannot help but feel proud to be Chinese.
Second Act: Dreams as Horses
The second act mainly tells the story of King Zhou Mu, Zao Fu, Bo Yao, and others encountering a snowy mountain on their way to fulfill the appointment at Kunlun. Historical records state that the emperor dined with nine tripods, while ministers dined with five. This was fully reflected in the props, with meticulous attention to detail, creating a literary and artistic masterpiece with dedication.
Subsequently, the scene in the play where the chef cooks fish and mutton together is also eye-catching. The seemingly ordinary line, ‘Fish and mutton cooked together, delicious!’, actually has an allusion behind it. It is said that Peng Zu had 54 sons, and one of his younger sons loved fish. Peng Zu was afraid that he would argue about it, so he repeatedly stopped him. To avoid Peng Zu, the younger son hid the fish in the mutton to cook it, but unexpectedly, it was extremely delicious. After tasting it, Peng Zu approved and named it ‘Fish Hidden in Mutton Square’, from which the character for ‘delicious’ (鲜) derived.
On the one hand, it has increased everyone’s knowledge; on the other hand, it has shown from another angle that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, Chinese food culture already had a long history. There is substance everywhere in this exquisite play, and it requires careful watching; otherwise, one may miss the knowledge points.
Third Act: Promises as Wheels
The third act mainly tells the story of King Zhou Mu and his entourage encountering the Daughters’ Kingdom on their way. The soldiers were mesmerized by the charm of the place. King Zhou Mu aroused the soldiers’ determination to continue their westward journey with the great righteousness of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, who ‘keep their promises like a thousand pieces of gold’, and they pressed on bravely.
The beauty of dance is the highlight of the third act. In the play, the actors portraying soldiers and residents of the Daughters’ Kingdom danced gracefully in the center of the stage. The magnificent group dance and exquisite costumes vividly restored the idyllic scenery of the landscape on King Zhou’s western tour.
The actress portraying the leader of the Daughters’ Kingdom is Chen Yuting, a girl from Chongqing. Graduating from Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences with a major in Dance (Education), she fully displayed the gentleness and liveliness of a young girl on stage.
The various expressions of the characters in the play rely on the perfect coordination of the dancers’ body movements and musical background. The only way is to continuously and diligently practice, enhancing the performance with stage beauty. "O, pair of turtledoves on the river island…", the girls of the Daughter Kingdom dance joyfully and enthusiastically, wanting to keep the soldiers. The chief of the Daughter Kingdom says to Bo Yao, "Fool", which is humorous yet lively, contrasting with the righteousness of the entire plot. The characters on stage feel like flesh-and-blood people like me.
Fourth Act: The Heart as the Wheel
The fourth act mainly tells the story of King Mu of Zhou’s exhausted men and horses, with the fire god igniting a fiery sea to block their path, causing the horses to scatter and the wheels to become rooted. In the dangerous situation, King Mu of Zhou vows to cross the fiery sea, and the fierce fire god is also conquered.
In the midst of the fiery sea, horses run wildly. A group of "little fire gods" dressed in red surround the Western Zhou caravan, flipping up and down to block their westward path.
The actors’ continuous somersaults resemble blazing firewheels. The stage effects are fiery, and the fuel pre-placed at the front of the stage is ignited, causing waves of heat to be felt in the audience and the smell of fireworks to be detected. The combination of the virtual and real is fascinating.
The beauty of song is one of the highlights of the fourth act. In the two spaces, King Mu of Zhou and the Queen Mother of the West sing across the void, with modern singing techniques interpreting the inner monologue of the millennia-old pact.
In terms of visual imagery, the fourth act focuses on displaying the jade of the Queen Mother of the West’s world to present the gold relative to King Mu of Zhou, creating a visual effect of one rigid and one soft, one hard and one flexible. One side is the order and solemnity constructed by bronze; the other side is the mystery and romance of the Western Regions composed of snowy mountains, rock walls, and heavenly lakes. This forms a sharp contrast between the two spaces and also creates a fusion of emotions between them, providing a spatial basis for the theme of the next act, "Resonant Harmony of Gold and Jade, Harmony of Heaven and Earth".
Fifth Act: Harmony of Heaven and Earth
The fifth and final act of the plot depicts King Mu of Zhou meeting the Queen Mother of the West on Kunlun Mountain, where the sun and moon intersect, fulfilling the millennia-old pact of Kunlun. As the highlight of the fifth act, the Shao Music Ceremony echoes the Shao music display in the first act, but the scene is larger and more magnificent, marking the climax of the entire performance.
Shao music is the high-level elegant music of ancient China. "The Analects of Confucius – Shu Er" records that Confucius heard Shao music in the State of Qi and forgot the taste of meat for three months. It is hailed as the "First Movement of China". In the play, the lights illuminate the entire venue, symbolizing the palace of King Mu of Zhou and the snowy mountains of the Queen Mother of the West echoing each other. Horse-riding guards gallop towards the center of the stage from multiple directions, forming a loop. The scale and grandeur of the scene are unparalleled in the entire play.
Based on stories from classics such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "The传记 of Emperor Mu of Zhou", and "The Bamboo Annals", "Kunlun’s Pact" presents through five acts the emperor’s westward journey, his trials and tribulations, and the fulfillment of his pact with the Queen Mother of the West on Kunlun Mountain. It fully demonstrates the long history of exchanges and integration between the mainland and border people, depicting a magnificent poem of Chinese people helping and advancing together.
Reservation phone number for Kunlun’s Pact: 181-3962-2229 Same as WeChat 0991-8585456