The classic Chinese dance drama Flower Rains along Silk Road, which portrays stories about the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in Northwest China's Gansu province, will be staged in the United States on Dec 9 and Dec 10 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

It will be the first time for the dance drama to be performed in the US, Gansu Opera and Ballet Group director Lu Jinlong says.

It debuted in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Oct 1, 1979. It has since toured more than 20 countries and regions in 1,600 performances.

It conveys the prosperity and artistic flourishing of the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Dunhuang was a prosperous oasis town and a major stop along the historic Silk Road. The frescoes and clay sculptures in its grottoes are some of the best-preserved ancient Buddhist art.

China Daily - Xinhua