Popular singer Song Zuying, who performed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony with Placido Domingo, is joining a TV series on an ancient Chinese town that dates back 2,700 years.

She is to sing the theme song of Spring and Autumn Period of Yancheng (Chunqiu Yancheng), a 30-epidose TV drama and will also star in the song's music video.

"It was great honor to perform at the Olympics Closing Ceremony, which was a supreme platform to present various aspects of Chinese culture," says Song. "And it is the profound history and culture of Yancheng that attracts me to take part in the TV series."

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Song Zuying, in traditional costume, sings the theme song of Spring and Autumn Period of Yancheng.?

It is set in the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou, widely thought to be the capital of Yan, a small kingdom in the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), when China had a loose feudal system and chaos reigned between its small kingdoms.

The city has three moats shaped as concentric circles surrounding three city walls. The king lived in the central domain while his citizens lived in the outer two. There were no bridges between the moats and domains, so citizens traveled by boat. Archeologists believe the structure was to defend the kingdom from attack.

The ancient town has a touching legend, on which the TV series is based. The princess of the kingdom fell in love with, and married, the prince in a neighboring country. The young husband then stole her father's most precious treasure, a jade turtle, and fled back to his own country. The emperor killed his daughter in fury, and buried her head, body and feet in three different tombs.

The tombs are still in the old town's ruins, which are now a public park. Between 1986 and 1991, archeologists unearthed about 2,000 relics, most of them bronze vessels, from the tombs in the ruins, including one of the three tombs believed to bury the princess in the tale.

The most valuable relic is an 11-m canoe, the oldest canoe discovered in China. Archeologists believe that it was an important mode of transport in the old times.

Song shot her MV in the ruins and in the local museum, in which the canoe and other antiques are preserved. She says that she marvels at the ancient town's rich history and culture, and hopes by the song and the TV series, more people will learn about the town and its charm.

Luo Hao, Song's husband and the show's producer, says Yancheng could easily become a favorite subject and shooting site for TV and filmmakers.

The TV series is scheduled for screening next month.

(China Daily September 19, 2008)