Old-school comedy makes a comeback

Wang Rugang adds that, in the past, women would turn down movie dates and ask to go and watch a huajixi show instead.

"If the guy managed to get tickets, it showed that he was capable and resourceful," he says.

"During the funny scenes, people laughed so heartily that they sometimes slapped their thighs－when the woman slapped not her own thigh but that of a man's, he knew that he had succeeded in getting himself a fiancee."

According to Wang Rugang, the Shanghai Dujiaoxi Heritage Center has presented more than 200 shows since August last year, and has created several new productions in the first year of its establishment. Its latest project is a play named First Things First, about the recently implemented garbage sorting regulations in Shanghai.

"The young actor playing the leading role of the cleaner used to work alongside cleaners in real life. We held many trial performances in local communities and this helped us to gain a lot of great feedback as well as learn new stories about people's experiences," says Wang Rugang.