Chinese documentary Da Ming Palace premiered in the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, transporting audiences to the flourishing Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.

During the premiere ceremony, Ambassador Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the Tang Dynasty enjoys a "significant and unique status in China's history." The Tang Dynasty had 20 emperors who ruled China from the 7th to the 9th centuries.

"China at that time was a remarkably open society with unprecedented frequent and extensive exchanges and interactions with the rest of the world," Liu said.

Chinatowns are springing up in various cities worldwide. The Chinese term for Chinatown is Tang Ren Jie. Literally, it means "residential blocks or districts of the people of the Tang Dynasty," Liu explained.

"Through the documentary, we will not only get a glimpse of what the Tang Dynasty was like and how prosperous, peaceful and harmonious China was at that time, but we will also see that a magnificent imperial palace once exclusively enjoyed by emperors has now been turned into a public park," Liu announced.

Located in the northern part of Xi'an City, the capital of northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, Da Ming Palace is the most splendid architectural complex of the Tang Dynasty. It is also renowned as the Eastern Sanctuary and demonstrates the developed economy, blooming culture and sophisticated architectural technique at the time.

The documentary Da Ming Palace contains various special effects to demonstrate the historical features of the palace. The film has won great public acclaim during its showing in China.

Director Jin Tiemu said he hoped that the movie could help the world to "know the true legend of Tang and find the ultimate spirit of Tang embedded within."

Some 100 representatives from the UN and permanent missions, including UN Secretary-General's Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, Under Secretary-General Angela Kane and Under Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe attended the premiere.

(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2009)