A show of courage

In 1937, the Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek established Chongqing as China's temporary capital and the southwestern city began to play a critical role in the Asian theater of World War II.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), several KMT prisons were supervised by the Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization, which was established secretly in Chongqing in 1943. The United States used it to train and dispatch KMT agents.

On Nov 27, 1949, about two months after Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, SACO agents set fire to the male prison wards at the Zhazidong prison, killing all but 15 who managed to break through a section of wall.

In the two prisons, more than 300 revolutionaries were killed before the KMT fled to Taiwan.

The CPC liberated Chongqing three days later, which laid a solid foundation for the People's Liberation Army to free the entire southwestern region of China.

Today, the prisons are memorials which attract millions of visitors every year.

"Besides the social value, we hope the audience can appreciate the beauty of art," says Li Hanzhong, the chief director of Chongqing 1949.

Providing the audience with a unique perspective, the set is designed on a rotating 360-degree stage, which revolves on different tracks to create a multidimensional and immersive experience.