BANGKOK, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Friday that the 500 Baht entrance ticket to the Grand Palace in Bangkok now includes a Khon performance at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre.
Purchased onsite at the Grand Palace, the ticket covered entry to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and Wat Phra Kaew Museum.
The Bureau of the Royal Household has added the opportunity to see the Khon performance into the 500 Baht ticket.
According to TAT, there are five performances daily of the 25-minute masked dance drama from Monday to Friday.
A shuttle bus is available to take one-way trip from the Phiman Deves Gate at the Grand Palace to Sala Chalermkrung, leaving 30 minutes before the start of each performance.
Khon is a performing art combining graceful dance movements, instrumental and vocal renditions and glittering costumes. Khon performances, which have a strong didactic function, depict the life and glory of Rama, the hero and incarnation of the god Vishnu, who brings order and justice to the world, according to UNESCO's website.
While traditionally Khon was transmitted in the royal or princely courts and in dance masters' households, nowadays transmission occurs mostly in educational institutions, while still adhering largely to traditional methods.
On Nov. 29, 2018, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICS-ICH) decided to inscribe "Khon Masked Dance Drama in Thailand" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which was the first inscription since Thailand has ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage or 2003 UNESCO Convention.
