Classic Tibetan opera "Princess Wencheng," tracing the life of a famous Tang Dynasty (618-907) princess, was staged at an outdoor theater on Saturday in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The 90-minute opera depicts the story of Princess Wencheng, who came all the way from Chang'an (known today as Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province) to marry the then Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo over 1,300 years ago, and brought the culture of the Han people to the southwestern Chinese region.

The large-scale opera features more than 800 performers, including professional actors and amateurs, who are Tibetan farmers and herdsmen.

First staged in the regional capital in 2013, "Prince Wencheng" has been one of the most popular theater productions in the region, as well as a major cultural attraction, alongside other tourist destinations such as the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple.

A total of more than 1,300 performances of the opera have been staged since its debut, attracting over three million viewers and generating tourism revenues of approximately one billion yuan (about 153 million U.S. dollars), according to the organizers.

The opera, which is usually staged from April to October each year, opened on June 1 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.