Les Miserables will open in Shanghai today, marking the first full production of a Western musical in China.
'Bringing Les Mis to Shanghai has taken many years,' producer Cameron Mackintosh said. 'It's something I've dreamed about. For us, to come to China has always been our ultimate goal.'
The show will run for three weeks, until July 7.
Some 90 per cent of the seats for the 21 performances were already sold out, officials from the Shanghai Grand Theatre said.
Les Miserables is the second-longest-running show on Broadway and more than 49 million people have seen the production worldwide over more than 15 years.
The actors, orchestra and crew for the Shanghai run are largely drawn from the American tour, and organisers vowed the show would rival performances on Broadway and London's West End.