Puccini's timeless opera "Turandot", the story of a Chinese princess, is well-known in China. China's leading cinema visionary Zhang Yimou's direction of it at the Bird's Nest in 2008 made it more of a sensation. Now, the opera will be staged at China's prime cultural and arts venue, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Thursday.

Turandot, an ancient fable that originated in Persia but is set in China, tells of a princess so desirable that men came in their hundreds, from all over the world, and queued to vie for her love. A suitor had to answer three vexing riddles, and anyone who failed to do so was decapitated and his head wound up on a stake, as a warning to those still in line.

A hallmark of western performing art, the opera is considered by some as "highbrow art". People often complain about the few and limited audience numbers. But prominent Chinese artist Chen Danqing believes that there's a reason for its popularity in China.