On a vast, sparsely decorated stage, the rise and fall of the Rostov, Bolkonsky, Bezukhov, and Kuragin families plays out against the backdrop of Tolstoy's classic, War and Peace, an epic novel about the ups and downs of personal destiny amid the grand sweep of history.

A five-hour adaptation of the classic by Moscow's Vakhtangov Theatre, made its debut on Sept 5 at Beijing's Poly Theater, and played three more shows, the last one on Sunday. The Beijing stop was part of the production's first China tour, which kicked off in Shanghai on Aug 22 and visited Guangzhou from Aug 29 to Sept 1.