The second outdoor production of China's leading film director Zhang Yimou debuted on Sunday at the foot of Yulongxue (Jade Dragon Snow) Mountain in southwestern China.

Around 500 local people from 10 ethnic groups have been selected from 16 towns and villages in Lijiang of Yunnan Province to perform daily folk songs, dances and rituals for tourists.

The performance was "innovatively" staged in the morning, said Zhang, who spent two years producing this one-hour outdoor performance entitled "Impression Lijiang".

The performance began with more than 400 male performers in their traditional costumes of respective ethnic groups shouting to the sky "we are farmers, we are stars".

Unlike indoor or evening performances that can use lighting to cover up blemishes, an outdoor performance in full daylight allows no room for mistakes or "artistic decoration or artificial disguise", Zhang said.

"No one dared to put an outdoor performance at day time before, " Zhang said. "I made this decision after having wide-ranging investigation."

Zhang's assistant Wang Chaoge said this outdoor production has undergone hundreds of times of discussions and rehearsals before staged. All the songs and dances were artistically produced on the bases of folk people's daily life.

When his production was put into the final rehearsal two months ago, Zhang granted it 80 scores against 100. And this time, he said he was moved several times during the performance.

Zhang believes he has "accomplished a dialogue with nature" in this outdoor production.

Zhang's another assistant Fan Yue said the success of the performance lied in the local custom and culture.

Editor: Donald