Breathing new life into century-old Yueju Opera

Yueju Opera is one of the five major Chinese operas. It is skillful in narration and sentiment and is popular across China. This timeless form of intangible cultural heritage now has new apprentices.

We followed a young duo of Yueju Opera performers: eleven-year-old Wang Yuhan and her stage partner, nine-year-old Huang Xinru in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, as they shared kindred spirits in inheriting the performing art of Yueju Opera.

With their colorful opera costumes and makeup, the young female duo work well together on the stage and are good friends in real life. They often practice together to improve their performance.

Wang Yuhan: the girl who steps into dashingly handsome role

Eleven-year-old Wang Yuhan has been studying Yueju Opera for four years. Fascinated by the Xiaosheng roles, the young male roles in Chinese operas, Wang also finds her vocal range is well suited to these.

In traditional Chinese opera, cross-dressing is a common practice, with female actors performing male roles and vice versa.

In opera plays, she portrays Xiaosheng. She enjoys the moment she puts on a costume and is instantly transformed into a dashingly handsome character.

Off the opera stage, she also enjoys playing the guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked instrument. Wang said she loves Chinese culture and wants to pursue an art career one day and become an inheritor.

Huang Xinru: a rising star in Yueju Opera

Huadan is the vivacious young female role in traditional Chinese opera. Nine-year-old Huang Xinru has been understudying Huadan roles for two years.

With the help of her teachers, Huang has made immense progress and has become more mature in her performance.

Learning how to perform opera is no small undertaking. Huang had been learning singing, recitations, and movements to become the next big star on stage.

This persevering talent has recently been delving into the character of Lin Daiyu from the Chinese classic "A Dream of Red Mansions." She practices calligraphy to get into the role.

Through the pursuit of children like Huang Xinru and Wang Yuhan, traditional Chinese opera is being revitalized by a younger generation.

Yueju opera educator Pei Yunyan is one of the teachers helping them to learn and perform. She said, in recent years, local authorities have been preserving and developing Yueju Opera in schools, intending to bring traditional art forms onto school campuses.

With pride on her face, she is happy to see the young pupils growing up with more cultural activities available and an environment conducive to traditional art.