If you want to really be introduced into Chinese ancient history and culture a trip to the opera is a must. There are hundreds of them spread all around China so it shouldn’t be to hard for you to find one close by. Beijing opera dates back to the Qing Dynasty however they weren’t that popular until the emperor at the time Qianlong became a big fan and started visit often . Although this art form was banned for some time due to the Chinese revolution it has proved to stand the test of time with hundreds of different traditional opera’s being performed everyday.
Stunning Costumes
The actual performances are a bright and vibrant affair visually there is so much color coming from the costumes and the masks and also the set on stage its all very luxurious. The tradditional plays are based usually on Chinese culture and history, which will be perfomed using many different methods; mosly singing but also acrobatics, mime, speech and special effects.
Breath taking acrobatics
The Opera still uses the same traditional instruments which typically are only 6 pieces a gong, Suona,Pipa,sanxian,drums and an Erhu the music is usually used as an accompaniment to the singing or a lot of the time the percussion instruments are used to punctuate movement. My favourite part was the fight scene which used spectacular acrobatics and sounds to make it exciting the movements were so graceful the actors must have had great discipline.
Beautifully hand-crafted Masks
If this account has inspired you to want to travel Beijing but don’t know where to start for some great low cost travel idea’s go to China Tours. Or if you need advice on hotels go to China Hotels.
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