The musical is being introduced to China's capital to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of the great French writer. Five performances will be staged for Chinese audiences around Christmas.

It would not only be the Asian debut for "Notre Dame De Paris, "but also the world grand finale of the French version of the musical, said Wang Jiangang, event organizer for the Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group.

First produced for 35 million francs (about 5.4 million euros) in 1998, the musical has been performed 600 times in more than 10 countries, and over 4 million people have seen it.

The soundtrack of "Notre Dame De Paris," a blend of rock music and classic musical, has sold 7 million compact discs to date, andrecently has been the world's best-selling French musical CD.

Victor Hugo is widely known to Chinese people for his immortal masterpieces of French literature such as "Les Miserables" and "Notre Dame De Paris."

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2002)