Beijing People's Art Theater, the most famous of its kind in China, is staging a series of its repertoires to mark its 50th anniversary which falls on Wednesday.

The theater was set up in 1952 by a group of veteran dramatists led by Cao Yu, a playwright distinguished for his play, ?Thunderstorm.?

Over the past five decades, 251 dramas have been staged in 12,575 performances.

To celebrate it's 50 birthday, the theater has staged performances over recent months to entertain audiences with a series of classics like ?Thunderstorm," "Concubine Cai Wenji," "Teahouse" and "The No.1 Pavilion."

Since 1980, dramatists from the theater have performed in many countries in Europe and Asia.

In recent years, Chinese dramatists have also staged several dramas telling foreign stories.

Last year, it staged 12 plays, in 336 performances, and earned over 700,000 yuan.

(cctv.com June 12, 2002)