"When I made Thunderstorm, I was determined that I had to make the Vietnamese version of The Wildness at any cost ... When meeting Dr Chua Soo Pong, he advised me to make a great play which is influential. So I decided to make this play (Kim Tu)," said Le Ngoc, who played the mother of Jiao Daxing.

Efforts of the artists have borne fruits. After rehearsals and the first official show, many viewers remained in the theater to offer them flowers, talk to them and take photos.

"Before watching this play tonight, I had no information about it. But after watching it, I was really impressed. This is a play performed by Vietnamese people but it maintains many Chinese characteristics," said Nguyen The My, a specialist at Hanoi-based medical equipment company Vinamedical.

"This play helps the Vietnamese people, especially youths, have a new view about the Chinese culture. In the past, we mainly knew the Chinese culture through movies and songs. So this new view should be further developed," he added.

Like him, many Vietnamese artists and audiences said that Vietnam and China should beef up cultural exchanges and cooperation, especially in performing arts.