West Lake Impressions

My last night in Hangzhou I went to see the “West Lake Impressions” performance. Hands down, the coolest performance I’ve ever seen. Ever. In fact, if you visit China, and you don’t see this, you’re missing out. I literally had goose bumps it was so powerful.

So what is this mystery performance that rocked my world?

I’m glad you asked.

There are no words that can properly describe the sheer awesomeness of this show, so take what I’ve written, picture it in your mind, and then multiply it by 1,983,739,478,485, and that is how cool it actually was. Basically what it comes down to is a dance performance, supported by the most brilliant use of lighting, costume design, and music on Earth. And in outer space. It was unmistakably a love story, of which the probable historical significance was lost on the laowai, but that didn’t make the performance any less remarkable.

But the coolest part of the show was that the entire performance is done on the water. The stage is IN the lake. I repeat, IN THE FREAKING LAKE! The stage is built 3 cm below the surface so it appears that the performers are dancing on water.

The performance is done after dark and the person in charge of lighting is an artist. A spotlight could make the performers appear, disappear, glow, and change colors. The costumes were awesome and the music was powerful and perfectly timed.

IT WAS SUCH A GOOD SHOW!

My sheer joy for witnessing that glorious event was overshadowed a bit by the hour and a half walk home that created some lovely blisters on the bottom of my feet. When thousands of Chinese tourists come flooding out of one theater, a lowly foreigner doesn’t stand a chance at getting a taxi.

I’ve included a few pictures, but they don’t begin to do the show justice. If you’re still curious, there are a few decent videos of the show on YouTube, but again, doesn’t do it justice at all.