NKorean art troupe brings Chinese classic to Beijing

North Korean artists are seen on the chartered train to China's Dandong on May 2, 2010. (SINA/ImagineChina, Chen Hao)

North Korean artists are seen on the chartered train to China's Dandong on May 2, 2010. (SINA/ImagineChina, Chen Hao)

North Korean artists walk on the platform at Dandong Station in Northeast China's Dandong on May 2, 2010. (SINA/ImagineChina, Chen Hao)

North Korean artists walk on the platform at Dandong Station in Northeast China's Dandong on May 2, 2010. (SINA/ImagineChina, Chen Hao)

A North Korean art troupe bringing the Korean opera adaptation of the Chinesse masterpiece 'A Dream of Red Mansions' arrived in Northeast China's Dandong Sunday, May 2, 2010.

The 198-member troupe will be performing in Beijing from May 6-9.

The opera was first staged in the 1960s under the instruction of late DPRK leader Kim Il Sung, In 2008, DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il made the artists further improve the opera and put it on stage again.

The Chinese classic, written during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by Cao Xueqin, is considered the greatest novel in Chinese literary history.