The Dream of the Silk Road on the Sea was staged on Sunday at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The Dream of the Silk Road on the Sea was staged on Sunday at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The Dream of the Silk Road on the Sea was staged on Sunday at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

A dance drama dedicated to the glorious days of expanding Chinese influence titled The Dream of the Silk Road on the Sea was staged Sunday at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

The show is dedicated to the Maritime Silk Route, which was established in the first century AD. The story is set during the Song Dynasty, at a time of expanding trade between China and the rest of Asia, and even Africa and Europe.

Two thousand people were present for the performance, which combined an exotic cultural blend of music, dance, and costumes.

In the Song Dynasy, the city of Quanzhou, in present-day Fujian Province, was one of the largest ports in the world. Ships carrying silk, porcelain and tea were regularly setting sail for distant ports around the world. The Maritime Silk Road had a crucial role in linking the East and the West, and was a major source of revenue for Chinese dynasties.

The show will next be staged in central China's Shaanxi Province, in Myanmar in September, and then move west to other countries that were on the Maritime Silk Road.