Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's fable "The Princess and the Pea" inspired a museum exhibition in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, on Nov. 12, China Daily reported.
Titled "The Everlasting Charm of Fairy Tales--Centennial of H.C. Andersen's Fairy Tales," the exhibit made its premiere in Beijing in September before it was unveiled at Xi'an Museum.
The exhibition showcased Andersen's artifacts from his childhood as well as illustrations and paper cuts from his fairy tales.
Xi'an Museum provided a stage area for performances, an area where Andersen's fairy tale picture books can be read and a LEGO playing space for kids.
In the coming months, the exhibition will also be shown in Dalian, Liaoning Province; Nanjing, Jiangsu Province; and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
The free exhibition will run through Jan. 5, 2015.
In cooperation with Odense City Museum of Denmark, the exhibition features 20 mattresses on a bed inspired by the bed from the Danish writer's "The Princess and the Pea."
On Nov. 22, "The Princess and the Pea" will also come to life in England, particularly at Town Hall Theatre in Hartlepool, Hartlepool Mail reported.
The new production will feature music and songs with children aged three to seven as its target audience.
It will tell a story of a queen hoping to save her family by looking for a princess to marry her negligent son. One stormy night, an unkempt lady claiming to be a princess goes to their castle seeking shelter.
While the prince falls in love with the lady instantly, the queen has to make sure the lady is really a princess. In order to do this, the queen puts her to the test.
If she is really of royal blood, the lady will be very sensitive, so the queen invites her to stay the night and places a pea in her bed covered with a pile of mattresses.