Editor's note: Tourism is booming in China. Every April, picturesque water towns and historic blocks in its southern and eastern regions become popular destinations. To understand how historic towns empower China's tourism industry, CGTN presents "Old Town, New Life," a series that tells fresh stories of well-preserved old towns and shows how younger generations are reshaping their culture. This is the third part, and you can find Part 1 and Part 2 here.

Recently, students from the Shengzhou Yueju Opera Art School have been rehearsing on unfamiliar stages: pavilions, historic halls and even a lotus pond in the ancient town of Chongren in east China.

They are preparing for the flash mob shows for tourists who will visit the town in the coming Labor Day holiday, according to Jiang Xia, 26, a teacher who has worked in the school for five years.

"We usually perform on formal stages that have a distance from the audience. But with flash mob shows, the audience can get closer to performers and see their beautiful make-up and costumes clearly," said Jiang.

"Tourists can have an immersive experience of the art form, and our students can have more opportunities to improve their performing skills and gain courage and confidence," added Jiang.

Traditionally favored by older generations, Yueju Opera has seen a surge in interest among young Chinese after the viral success of a new show, "New Dragon Gate Inn," which debuted in March last year.

The classic stories of Yueju Opera often take place in traditional Chinese buildings, and Chongren seems to have set up an ideal stage for these performances.

Nestled in Shengzhou, Shaoxing City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Chongren is a treasure trove of cultural heritage sites, including residential buildings, temples, ancestral halls, and wells that could be dated back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The town got its name because local people have long advocated benevolence and justice.

The town is about 30 hectares large, and over one tenth of it is covered by traditional Chinese buildings. Over 150 historic buildings and 50 ancient wells present a full picture of how this large community thrived in the 1930s as a trade hub.

Currently, there are about 2,000 residents living in the 1,300-year-old town, most of whom are elderly. Chongren has a stable fan base for Yueju Opera as it is the hometown of many well-known performers and the opera is sung in the local dialect.

Today, local residents come to perform and see the opera performance every Saturday at an ancient stage, and the accompaniment music is also played by local residents.

Built in the late 18th century, the stage is housed in an ancient ancestral hall located in the center of the town. According to local tour guide Wu Hong, people can hear performers' singing from far away because of the meticulously designed wood roof, which could function as a loudspeaker.

Preservation efforts of Chongren's buildings began in the 1980s and still go on today. Its renovation funds are mainly supported by the government. Most tourists come here to see the exquisite stone, wood and brick carvings, as well as the traces left by history on ancient buildings. 

Compared to other historic towns in China, the town seems quite "slow" in promoting the commercial transformation of its scenic spots. Tourists won't find modern coffee shops in Chongren, but they can find studios of purple sand teapots, bamboo crafts, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy. 

Wood has been a key word in China's long history of architecture, which ages easily and presents challenges for fire prevention as well.

Wang Xinjun, director of the Shengzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center, said all kitchens in the town are equipped with modern smoke alarms, and supervisors are assigned to key buildings in order to make sure that each historic building is being taken good care of. He added that they've also created a digital model for the town.

"We've planned routes for various vehicles that need to get into the town to put out the fire when it happens," said Wang. "We've conducted regular training as well to ensure that local residents have the know-how to put out a fire as soon as possible."

In recent years, Shengzhou has invested more than 39 million yuan (about $5.5 million) in preventing fire risks for cultural relics in Chongren, establishing first-class fire stations and power systems.