Embedded Files
The Celestial garden Theatre
The Celestial garden Theatre
Within the Bamboo Forest, guests can find a small clearing, with a sign that says “Celestial Garden - Path to Theatre”. As guests walk under the sign, this clearing becomes a much larger area with various statues around the outside of different celestial beings. These statues represent The Eight Immortals (Bāxiān), an important part to Chinese mythology. The Immortals, in clockwise order, are:
He Xiangu - The only female immortal; often shown holding a lotus flower.
Zhongli Quan - Wields a fan that revives the dead; symbolizes life and longevity.
Lu Dongbin - Scholar and swordsman; represents wisdom and protection.
Zhang Guolao - Rides a donkey backwards; carries a bamboo drum. Eccentric and mystical.
Cao Guojiu - A nobleman with a jade tablet; represents justice.
Han Xiangzi - Carries a flute; a patron of music and art.
Lan Caihe - Carries a flower basket; symbolizes youth and nonconformity.
Li Tieguai - Leans on an iron crutch and carries a gourd of medicine; he represents healing and transcendence.
Beyond the 8 statues, in the middle is a large tree peach tree, with a few peaches on it just out of reach. However, this isn’t just a regular peach tree.
The Celestial Garden attendant comes out to introduce everyone to the Celestial Garden, and the highlight of the garden, the centre piece in front of them, the Immortal Peach tree. Each one of the peaches on the tree can bring unbelievable powers of immortality, flight, and more. The attendant explains how important these peaches are and how at one point, even the mighty and legendary Sun Wukong was once in charge of protecting these Immortal Peaches.
As the attendant speaks highly of the tree, the tree suddenly comes to life and starts to move and shimmer (the tree is a simple animatronic. Not much movement but enough for a pre-show). As the attendant continues the story, they warn about the dangers and powers these peaches hold. The greed and imbalance one could cause that can awaken dark forces if those wanting a peach aren't careful. As this story continues, the peach tree appears to curl and shrivel up, scared itself of those powers. "But we don't have to worry about that today! You are all here as special guests to the Peach Banquet, celebrating these Peaches blooming for the first time in 3,000 years! As our special guests, we are bringing you into our festivities just inside where you can see this special banquet and enjoy all of the fun!" As the attendant says that, the tree shimmers and goes back to "healthy" before the doors at the other end of the clearing open, allowing guests to go into The Celestial Garden Theatre.
Once inside the theatre, it is set up very similar to the Dreamworks Theatre in Universal Hollywood with a massive curved seamless screen around the front of the theatre, with rows and rows of 4D chairs facing towards it. As guests find their seats, the screen shows traditional art of the immortal peach tree, while the art of the walls and roof depict other traditional stories.
The occasional scent of food (especially peaches) can be smelt while everyone is getting seated and ready and offscreen sounds of plates and small chattering to make it clear everyone is getting ready for the banquet. Once everyone is seated and ready to go, the lights go dark and the banquet is ready to begin!
The front of the theatre ceiling fades into shimmering sky, with drifting clouds and far-off mountain peaks. The screen then adjusts as well to show floating banquet tables made of jade and gold orbit gracefully around a glowing Immortal peach tree while the leaves sway gently in a mystical breeze. The scent of peaches grows stronger and stronger as the Queen Mother of the West, seated on a raised lotus throne, welcomes guests to her once in 3,000 years Peach Banquet. As she says that, large tables of food, mostly adorned with non-immortal peaches, float around the large tables bring food closer to the banquet. Subtle projection effects make the walls pulse with energy, and guests feel gentle seat rumbling as the clouds below swirl.
With a dramatic crash of cymbals and a swirl of gold dust, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King soars in on a spinning cloud, nearly colliding with one of the tables. “Hope I’m not late,” he quips, striking a pose. He leaps from cloud to cloud, launching minor puffs of smoke effects toward guests for each leap. A magical drumbeat pulses as he conjures illusions of himself, playing tricks on celestial guests. Some clearly having fun and laughing along, others clearly not. A minor tremor shakes the floor as he makes a towering fruit sculpture appear, only for it to collapse all over one floating deity. Eventually, Wukong’s charm wins over the crowd… until he turns toward the peach tree.
Spotting the ripest fruit near the top, he vaults up and hangs upside down from a branch. “Just one bite,” he mutters. He has to be careful though, he knows the risk if he gets caught, especially by The Queen Mother of the West. Eventually, the guests join him as he sneaks under tables towards the peach tree, where he grabs one of these precious fruits. The moment his teeth sink in, everything freezes in the theatre. No sound, the lights flicker, the wind cuts out. The air turns cold even. A low rumble pulses under guests’ seats. The Queen Mother gasps. The peach’s glow changes from gold to a sickly violet. In a burst of black smoke, Shadow Spirits pour from cracks in the tree roots, howling with laughter. One shoots straight out toward the audience (complete with air blasts and and minor strobe effects) just narrowly missing guests as the phantom whooshes overhead.
Wukong’s staff appears in his hand with a magical clang. “Sorry about that, time to clean up this mess!” he yells. With a mighty bound, he grabs the audience’s platform, and each seat starts to move and rumble as guests join on this bumpy adventure on his magic cloud. They zoom through heavenly arches, dodging more shadow spirits as wind gusts blast all around the theatre. The Queen Mother’s voice echoes, commanding Wukong to restore balance. “No pressure!” he shouts, swerving around a crashing palace tower along Lotus Lake as a water mist hits guests as they pass through the crumbling tower.
They arrive at the Mountain of Balance, a colossal floating peak divided down the middle with yin on one side, yang on the other: one side vibrant and lush, the other dark and cracked. The trip on the cloud slows as they land in a bamboo glade, which is quickly engulfed in large shadows. A monstrous Shadow Dragon, formed from chaos and imbalance, rises from the earth. It roars and lunges toward the theatre, as the seats start to rumble and shake under each massive step the dragon takes towards Sun Wukong. Showing off a trick he showcased to guests earlier, Sun Wukong starts to create a dozen glowing copies of himself, both lighting up the bamboo glade, but also disorientating the Shadow Dragon. As the dragon starts lashing out, blasts of hot air simulates fiery breath can be felt in the theatre seats.
At this point, the action turns frantic. Guests rumble as the Shadow Dragon starts to fight back, making the darkness stronger and stronger until all of a sudden it’s all dark, and the guests with Sun Wukong slip into a shadow vortex. Inside the vortex, fragments of Wukong’s past appear in shattering reflections: his fight with Heaven, his rebellion, his imprisonment. “Maybe I still have some growing to do…” he admits. Then a glowing image of the original peach appears in his hand, uneaten and still pure. He raises it, and in a bright flash of gold, the vortex erupts into light so bright nothing else can be seen.
Back in the orchard, time rewinds. The dark energy retreats. Wukong gently places the peach back on the branch, and the tree blooms of petals and light, to be even larger than when guests first saw it. The Queen Mother smiles, the deities reappear, and the floating banquet resumes. Warm golden light bathes the audience. Soft mist appears on the floor while petal confetti drifts down from above. Wukong bows, then trips on his cloud. “Okay, no more peaches,” he says. “Next time, I’m bringing my own fruit!” The show ends with an orchestral flourish as the screen fades into the starry heavens, the scent of peach lingering in the air, and the seats gently lower back down to allow guests to exit the Celestial Garden Theatre.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse