NEW YORK, July 8 -- The Peony Pavilion, one of the most famous love stories in China, was performed here Wednesday night by National Ballet of China and National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra on the stage of Lincoln Center.

The Peony Pavilion tells a story of a wealthy young woman who falls asleep alongside a peony pavilion and dreams of meeting a young scholar. The play was written by Tang Xianzu in 1598, the same year as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, to which it is often compared.

"I think it's gorgeous, the colors and the sentiment behind the dance impressed me, it's absolutely beautiful," said Adrienne Rodriguez, who watched the show with her friend.

There will be three performances of the Peony Pavilion and two of another show -- the Red Detachment of Women which is also performed by the same Chinese dance group, on July 8-12 in Lincoln Center in its annual summer festival.

The Red Detachment of Women is a classic work created in 1964 as a celebration of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

"The National Ballet of China brings two distinctive and very different ballets to the festival. Both of these ballets tell us something about China at very different times in its long history," said Nigel Redden, director of the Lincoln Center Festival.

The audience is eager to see both ballets performed by the wonderful dancers of the National Ballet of China, which is joining this year's festival with the world-leading ballet groups like Bolshoi Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet among many others, he added.

The Red Detachment of Women is considered as one of the most popular Chinese ballets and has been performed over 4,000 times throughout China, as well as in many other countries around the world.

The Red Detachment of Women tells the story of a peasant girl who rises from servitude to join an all-female battalion of the Red Army to defeat the evil landowner who once enslaved her.

By combining western ballets and works with distinct national characteristics, the National Ballet of China found a successful path for the development of Chinese ballet fusing styles of the classical and the modern, in addition to cultures of the nation and the world.

For over 50 years since its formation, the company has also been an excellent cultural envoy and important window of the nation to spread the essence of Chinese culture.