Travel guide to Beijing, China – Beijing opera

This article is written by a Beijinger and there are lots of useful infomation in it if you are planning your trip to Beijing,China. There are also some controversial topics about the Beijing opera in this article. Hope it can be helpful for your China vacations.

 Chinese opera is a form of drama and musical theatre. It has a history of more than 1000 years. There are lots of regional branches of Chinese opera:

Beijing opera(Jingju),Kunqu,Huangmeixi,Chuanju, etc. In these regional branches, Beijing opera is the most renowned.

In Beijing opera, the performers use the traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments. The acting is based on allusion. The stories of the opera show come from the Chinese historical novels.

In addition to its presence in China, Beijing opera has spread to lots of other countries. Mei Lanfang, one of the most famous Dan performers, was a great popularizer of Beijing opera. He performed Beijing opera in Japan during the 1920s and in U.S. in February 1930. Mei Langfang traveled across the United States and his show was a big success there.

Where to see the Beijing opera (Jingju) in Beijing? (You can find useful info for your China vacations in this paragraph)

In my opinion, the Beijing opera is not that popular in China anymore as it used to be. Most young people here don’t like this kind of ancient opera and it is only attractive to the old people nowadays. The Chinese government named Beijing opera the “national treasure” but it is not easy to find a theater to see a Beijing opera show here in Beijing. What a irony!

Actually Beijing opera is like the pop for the ancient Chinese people. But it is not the pop for the current Chinese people,especially for the young generations.

I tried to find the theaters that is still holding the Beijing opera shows, but what I get is all kinds of shows from the pop stars. Many theaters are not willing to hold the Beijing opera show anymore because of its lack of audiences. The only theater that is still acting as a Beijing opera theater is Mei Lanfang theater.

Although Beijing opera is not popular here in China anymore,it is still a very unique type of show and is still a must see for a tourist in Beijing.

Here are the theaters that still hold the Chinese opera shows in Beijing: (Good info for your China vacations)

1. Mei lanfang theater, the address is :North Jinrong street,Guanyuan bridge.(The Chinese address is in the last paragraph of this article) There are 1010 seats in Mei lanfang theater and differen Beijing opera shows are given here.

LongFengChengXiang,cost is 280/380/580/880/1280 RMB. ( 1/26/2009 )
SanDaoLin, cost is 180/280/380/580/680 RMB. (1/1/2009)
HongXuLieMa, cost is 180/280/380/580/680 RMB.(1/2/2009)
LieHuJi, cost is 180/280/380/580/680 RMB.(1/3/2009)
YangMenNvJiang, cost is 180/280/380/580/680 RMB.(1/4/2009)
FengHuanCao, cost is 280/380/580/880/1280 RMB.(1/13/009)
SuoLinXiang, cost is 280/380/580/880/1280 RMB.(1/28/2009)
QunJieHua, cost is 280/380/580/880/1280 RMB.(1/29/2009)
CunCaoChuangTang, cost is 280/380/580/880/1280 RMB.(1/30/2009)

(Mei langfang theater is a good choice to see the Beijing opera for your China vacations)

2. Liyuan theater, the address is: 175 Yongan road,Qianmen Hotel. capacity: 300.
The Chinese opera show here is named “Liyuan Jingju”. cost:280/380/480/580 RMB.( 3/18/2008 )

3. Chaoyang theater, the addess is: 36 DongSanHuanBeiLu. Capacity:1000.
The opera show here is named “traditinal Chinese opera show” and cost is 120/160/220 RMB.(1/1/2009)

4. Changan theater, the address is : JianGuoMenNeiDaJie 7. Capacity:700.
The shows provided here are:
Chengqiangzhangyun, cost: 280/380/580/680/880 RMB. (1/18/2009)
“traditinal Chinese opera show”, cost:180/280/380/580/680 RMB.(1/31/2009)