Tenors Yan Weiwen (right) and Wang Hongwei play the main roles in the film.[Photo by Ling Feng/China Daily]

Tian says that telling a Chinese story using a Western art form is always a challenge for Chinese directors, scriptwriters and composers.

Composer Yin spent two years on the composition for the opera, where he combined bel canto with Chinese folk singing.

He also borrows folk music elements from the different places along the route of the Long March.

Chinese architect Ma Yansong, who is best known for his structures like the Absolute Towers in Canada, designed the stage using multimedia technology.

Co-director Yang Xiaoyang, who is also the vice-president of the Chinese Dancers Association, choreographed the moves for the battle scene and the scenes on the grasslands and the snow-capped mountains.

The year 2017 marks the NCPA's 10th anniversary, and during the past decade, it has produced more than 70 operas, including 11 original works, and made more than 20 movies based on the operas, which have been screened across the country.