A MURAL can sleep for centuries — but it cannot truly disappear. Through “Her Qiuci,” a dance drama that travels across time, a modern mural restorer’s quest to repair broken art becomes a profound dialogue with lost history — and a shared call to awaken cultural memory. The dance drama will meet Shenzhen audiences this August at the Guangming Culture and Art Center.

Produced and led by Gulimina Maimaiti, a professor at Minzu University of China’s College of Dance, “Her Qiuci” follows a modern female mural conservator who, while restoring Qiuci wall paintings, is transported back in time. She witnesses both the ancient kingdom’s glory and the devastating moment when its murals were looted.

Many people may not know that a brilliant civilization once flourished along the Silk Road — the Kingdom of Qiuci (Kucha). Located in today’s Kuqa, Xinjiang, Qiuci was a key hub linking trade and cultural exchanges between East and West. During the Han (202 B.C.–A.D. 220) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, the Central Plains governments established protectorates there, underscoring the region’s strategic significance.

Shaped by a fusion of multiple cultures, Qiuci’s music-and-dance tradition and mural art are especially renowned. Its elegant dances captivated audiences across Asia. But as the civilization declined, later generations could glimpse its splendor only through surviving murals. Today, the ancient dance of Qiuci is returning to the public.

To authentically capture the essence of Qiuci dance, the creative team traveled repeatedly to Xinjiang. They visited the Qiuci Grottoes, studying dance postures, clothing designs, and musical instruments depicted in the murals — striving to bring to life, through modern dance language, the figures carved into the grotto walls.

The production’s soundscape features distinct Qiuci instruments such as the dutouqa, balaman, and five-string pipa. Their melodies intertwine gracefully with the echoes of camel bells, transporting audiences instantly into the mysterious, vast deserts of the Western Regions — immersing them in the beauty of Silk Road cultural blending.

Time: 8 p.m., Aug. 1; 3 p.m., Aug. 2

Venue: Grand Theater, Guangming Culture and Art Center, Guangming District (光明文化艺术中心演艺中心大剧场)

Metro: Line 6 to Fenghuang Town Station (凤凰城站), Exit B(Tang Li)