Beijing

Many cultural icons are fading away as modern generations find other distractions. But Peking Opera is now enjoying a revival. Qin Zhongwei has the dramatic story.

Peking Opera is as representative of China as the Great Wall of China. Thanks to a group of young people in the city, we can now see this great art again on one of the most popular venues for the opera.

Since August last year, a volunteer youth troupe has been staging traditional opera programs at the Huguang Huiguan, or Huguang Guild Hall, every Saturday evening. The Hall itself has a history of more than 200 years - a fitting venue for this cultural icon.

This organization, named the Youth Study Troupe of Peking Opera, is not an amateur group by any means. All the actors are gold or silver awards winners of national competitions and most were taught by the country's leading lights of the art.

These promising names include Li Yangming, Fang Xu, Chu Lanlan and Xu Teng, and their popularity has spread since the troupe began performing at the Huguang Guild Hall regularly.

"We do not intend to make money out of this, but just wish to have more opportunities to interact with audiences," says Suo Fangming. Most members work in professional Peking Opera troupes and they share a mutual passion. They are almost evangelical in this aspect, and they tour colleges in Beijing whenever they can to teach students the basics of appreciating Peking Opera - an art which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics.

For the very affordable price of 40 yuan per ticket, the venue provides the audience with an exclusive nostalgic journey back to the old days when the art was highly popular as daily entertainment and it was the norm that the audience, rich or poor alike, sat under the gray-tiled roofs and bright red gables, sipping tea and applauding their favorite actors.

It is just like a scene from Chen Kaige's award-winning film Farewell My Concubine.

If you arrive early, you can visit a small museum, which displays old opera costumes, various opera cosmetics and vintage vignettes of famous opera artists and their performances, including the divas such as Mei Lanfang, Tan Xinpei and Yu Shuyan.

Although there is a screen with subtitles near the stage, you can better appreciate the storyline by first doing a little homework, since the translation can get a little off-kilter at times.