Impression Liu Sanjie features some 600 performers who comprise local fishermen and actresses from a nearby art school. Provided to China Daily

Compared with most Chinese fishermen, Xie Zhongliang is surely versatile - when it's light he goes fishing and works part time in a souvenir photo studio, while at night he performs in one of the country's most popular shows.

Since 2009, the 30-year-old from Yangshuo county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has been performing in Impression Liu Sanjie, which is performed on one of the biggest natural stages in the world - the Lijiang River.

Since its debut in 2003, the 70-minute show has been a fan favorite due to its folk songs, ethnic traditions and focus on the daily lives of fishermen.

It's based on the local legend of Liu Sanjie, a folklore singer who helps the poor and beats evil by singing. Its producer is Mei Shuaiyuan and the general director is Zhang Yimou, who have both produced similar shows set in mountains and by rivers in tourist areas.

Approximately 1.5 million had seen the show in 2011. The show was staged 323 days that year, with two or three performances per day.

Xie is just one of the 600 performers, about half of whom are fishermen from the nearby five villages, ages 20 to 50.

Yang Shixian, general manager of Guilin Guangwei Wenhua Tourism and Culture Industry Ltd Co, says they trained professional performers at first, but it turned out they were not like fishermen and they couldn't perform on windy or rainy days. The fishermen perform as themselves onstage.

Xie, from Maozaishan village, used to work in Guangdong's provincial capital of Guangzhou and Xiamen, Fujian province, as a stereo system salesman, with a monthly income of more than 1,000 yuan ($157).

Now he earns nearly 2,000 yuan a month from performing at night and 1,500 yuan from his daytime jobs.

"The obvious change is that I'm making more money and I can stay at home rather than being a migrant worker in big cities. I have free time in the day and can do whatever I like," he says.

He says one of the most difficult parts of the six-month training was to row a bamboo raft, as hundreds of actors have to perform on rafts.

Six actors have to pull a piece of long red silk fabric in time with the music, and at the same time balance on rafts, so the Lijiang River is covered by more than a dozen bolts of red silk.

Xie Zhongjie, 22, says he was a bit nervous in rehearsals and even fell into the water, but he acts quite well in formal performances.

"It's easy for me to keep up with the rhythm, as I used to sell stereo systems and I often listen to music," Xie Zhongliang says.

Xie Zhongjie says it's difficult to control the bamboo raft when there is flooding or high winds. But when there is only light rain, they perform in raincoats.

"The movements are all fixed. Habit makes things natural," he says.

The two leave their homes at 6:40 pm every day, and it takes them about 15 minutes to ride a battery-powered vehicle to work. Some fishermen row a bamboo raft instead.

As Yangshuo is a famous tourist county, Xie Zhongliang communicates with visitors when he develops souvenir films for them by day.

"When they know I perform in Impression Liu Sanjie, they are very surprised and want to spot me when they watch the show at night. I'm very proud they think I'm an actor rather than a fisherman," he says.

He has to perform nearly every day, except during Spring Festival and bad weather. When he's free at night, he will watch TV and surf the Internet. His uncles and cousins all work in the show.

He adds that due to the show his family members have built new houses and have one or more motorcycles.

All actors are fishermen, and the actresses are students from Zhangyimou Lijiang Art College, a secondary vocational school that was established in 2000.

Yang says the school was founded for Impression Liu Sanjie and provides excellent actors and actresses for shows set on natural stages.

Huang Feifei contributed to this story.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn