The huge creature rears up, eyes glowing red, smoke billowing from its dragon’s snout and a primeval howl echoing in the Beijing night as it approaches its arachnid adversary.
The animatronic horse-dragon named “Long Ma” is 12m high and weighs 45 tonnes — as much as eight adult African elephants. For its part, the yellow spider — dubbed “The Princess” — has a 20m leg-span and can froth at the mouth.
Part ballet, part epic combat against a backdrop of streams of water, sparks, sound and light, the performance is very loosely based on a Chinese creation myth of the goddess Nuwa, who is said to have made people out of yellow mud and saved humanity from apocalypse after one of the pillars holding up heaven collapsed.
Photo: Reuters
Nuwa sealed the breach in the sky, bringing order to the chaos of the world, and the horse-dragon was conceived by the organizers as her envoy — although it does not appear in the original legend.
The two animatronic characters are controlled by teams of operators perched onboard and running alongside, but even so their movements are fluid, almost natural, and the Long Ma can also express itself facially, fluttering giant eyelashes among other gestures.
“It is puppetry on a grand scale,” crew member Isa said.
Photo: Reuters
Long Ma “can stand on his hind legs, his tail moves, he can gallop and — of course — fire comes from his mouth: It’s a real dragon,” said Francois Delaroziere, artistic director of the French firm that developed the tribute to Chinese mythology.
“In this mythical universe, the horse-dragon combines equine speed and vitality with the supreme power of the dragon: He embodies the spirits of vigor and perseverance that Chinese schoolchildren are still taught today,” Delaroziere said.
The event, mounted outside Beijing’s National Stadium — also known as the Bird’s Nest — that hosted the 2008 Olympics, is part of the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Paris and China.
“Relations between our two countries are largely based on a very ancient cultural affinity, a mutual attraction,” new French Ambassador to Beijing Maurice Gourdault-Montagne said, adding that the show embodies “the spirit of China itself.”
Shows started on Friday and are to run until today, when French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius is expected to attend, along with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅).
However, Beijing’s notorious pollution could spoil the weekend’s displays and Delaroziere appealed to the star performer’s spirit to intervene.
“This horse-dragon from antiquity can defy the elements and heal ... a new breach in the sky,” he said.
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