Marco Polo proves a hit in US

The Peacock Dance in Adventures ofMarco Polo, is performed by the Performing Arts Group of Hohhot in Branson, Missouri, in 2013. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Performing Arts Group of Hohhot gives full rein to emerging talent from Inner Mongolia

Take an epic tale of discovery, throw in spectacular acrobatics and dancing, and spice it up with Mongolian music, and you have all the ingredients for a hit show.

That, at least, is what happened with Adventures of Marco Polo, whose success in the United States is all the more remarkable given that it is performed by what was until recently an obscure arts group from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The production has been seen by 130,000 people in the US and brought in around 10 million yuan ($640,000) at the box office.

The show, inspired by the visit to China by the Italian explorer during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), has been staged at the White House Theater in Branson, Missouri, since August 2013, and won the top prize at a Chinese ethnic performance festival in the same year.

"Mongolian dance is a unique feature of the drama, and the combination of acrobatics and magic is the secret of its success," said Bai Jie, general manager of the Performing Arts Group of Hohhot, the company presenting the show.

"Our group is new, but our team is from the 50-year-old Inner Mongolian National Song and Dance Troupe," Bai said.

"After it was founded in March 2013, the group adopted a policy that gives full play to the talented young blood that has emerged from the arts school at Inner Mongolia University in recent years, and this guaranteed the quality of the dance part of the show.

"The extraordinary openness of the Yuan Dynasty to foreign cultures and its tolerance of different religions is reflected in the show through Marco Polo's experiences and the universal desire for love, which resonates with the audience."

Polo, who could speak four languages, was the first European to bring back a detailed chronicle of experiences in China.

He set off for China in 1271, when the whole country was under Mongolian rule, and served at Kublai Khan's court.