Chinese musical 'Cao Xueqin' premieres in Beijing

2013 marks the 250th anniversary of the death of Cao Xueqin, author of "A Dream of Red Mansions".

2013 marks the 250th anniversary of the death of Cao Xueqin, author of "A Dream of Red Mansions". The novel is hailed as a masterpiece of Chinese literature and is generally acknowledged to be the pinnacle of Chinese fiction.

To celebrate the legacy of this great writer from the Qing Dynasty, an original musical has opened here in Beijing. In the piece, characters from "A Dream of Red Mansions" appear from the book and join an incarnation of the author on stage.

The musical chronicles Cao Xueqin's life, with emphasis placed on how he wrote the novel. Born into a noble family in Nanjing in 1715, Cao finally settled in Beijing where he completed the novel that made him famous.

The musical features traditional folk music with a touch of pop. There will be 5 performances in this first round of the showcase.