International: The original musical dance drama The Spring Wind Greens Kekeya was staged in Beijing on July 9, offering audiences a vivid theatrical portrayal of the remarkable four-decade transformation of Kekeya, once a barren and windswept landscape in Aksu Prefecture of China`s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, into a thriving green oasis.

The production unfolds through a moving dialogue between two fictional characters whose conversations take the audience back to the early 1980s, when the Kekeya afforestation project was launched on the desolate land near Aksu.

At its heart, the performance tells the story of people from different ethnic communities who devoted themselves to planting trees and overcoming the harsh conditions of the Gobi Desert to create a livable environment.

Over the past 40 years, generations of people in Aksu have battled strong winds, drifting sand and extreme natural conditions to establish forests where barren land once dominated. Their perseverance has transformed the desert into a flourishing green landscape and created a more prosperous and harmonious home shared by people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Divided into six chapters, the production combines ethnic dance, poetry recitation, original music and state-of-the-art multimedia stage technology. It vividly depicts the region`s ecological journey, including desert control, water diversion, soil improvement, the development of the fruit industry and broader environmental restoration.

The production is directed by Chen Qiannian, a renowned ballet instructor and artistic director of the Dance Department at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. His international artistic vision brings depth to the storytelling, stage design and overall rhythm of the performance.

The script was jointly written by screenwriter Wei Rui and Aksu-based playwright Yuan Kangliang.

The production took two years to plan, develop and refine. It premiered in Aksu in January 2025 and has since been performed more than 20 times across Xinjiang and other cities in China.

Source: Mahmud Hashim, CMG Bangla, China Media Group (CMG).