An audience member poses with performers from the Chinese stage show "The Legend of Kung Fu" in Branson, Missouri, in the US. It was voted Best New Show in Branson in July by an online fan group on Twitter.

The production team considered using “worship to God of Fire” as description of Chinese loyalty to this god, but later found the locals only believed in one God. As a result, “worship” was replaced by an expression like “a ritual for God of Fire,” according to Cao.

Considering that the European audience was impacted much by the tragedies of Shakespeare while they performed in London, one character in this kung fu story, mother of the young apprentice was arranged to die to make the show more touching, Cao added.

In addition, some Chinese stories were incorporated into this kung fu legend. The one of Milarepa, a Tibetan Buddhist Hermit who got enlightened after overcoming various difficulties, was quite typical.

Gao Liting, script writer of The Legend of Kung Fu and artistic director of the White House Theater , who has just come back to Beijing from Branson, said their current performance there was quite successful.

Many audiences were thrilled by the performance, yelling out their new-learned Chinese “hao,” meaning “excellent” in English after each show.

An employee at IMAX brought his nephew to the White House Theater from Chicago, watching The Legend of Kung Fu almost twenty times in one month.

“They love Chinese kung fu like crazy,” Gao said, smiling. Their zeal for Chinese kong fu won them free admission each time after their tenth screening.

Daily performances of this show would be commented on by the director every night. “Not until that part was done with would they say a reluctant goodbye to us,” Gao added.

According to Cao, their troupe at Branson has more than seventy staff members. What are their lives like there?

Almost all the goods of the supermarkets at Branson were snapped up. Bread and milk, eggs, bananas…

“Salesmen come to us too, promoting AC, telephones, and even doors and windows,” said Gao. The local government believes Chinese kung fu gave this performing arts center a cool breeze.

How could they make this? According to Cao, all the managerial staff at China Heaven Creation boast a robust global outlook and professionalism. Cao has six years of management experience in the US and was a well-known dancer. As for Gao, he is a Chinese-American dancer and also has an academic background in economics.