Chinese Opera

Chinese opera is a traditional part of Chinese culture. It’s an old art that began over 2,000 years ago. Over time, it changed and became what it is today. It includes music, dancing, miming and acting. Some parts are similar to the circus, with acrobatics, comedy, martial arts and fire-eating. Each performance is a play with different characters. The stage usually has very few set designs. The musicians sit to the right of the stage and play traditional instruments like the flute, string instruments and drums. The stories have familiar characters, such as heroes, villains, comics, villagers and emperors.

Actors wear masks with colourful make-up and complex costumes. The colours mean different things. White make-up means the character is the villain, blue is for fierce characters, and yellow is for intelligent characters. It can take over one hour to put on all the make-up. There are over 360 kinds of Chinese opera. The most popular styles are Peking (or Beijing), Cantonese, and Kunqu. Popular stories of Chinese opera are about the Monkey King or emperors. Many tourists travel to China to enjoy watching the shows.