Peking Opera performer cultivates an eye for art's beauty

Nearly every month, Zhou Li, deputy director of the Chongqing Peking Opera company, leads her troupe to local schools and colleges for Peking Opera workshops.

These sessions feature introductions to the art's historical stories, hands-on vocal training, and performances of classic excerpts.

A Peking Opera practitioner since age 10, Zhou earned the Plum Performance Award in 2013, China's top honor for traditional Chinese theatrical art. She sees traditional Chinese opera as a powerful tool for students' aesthetic education.

"Peking Opera's visual splendor cultivates an eye for beauty while its morality-driven narratives nurture character," she explains.

Last year, Zhou and her troupe organized 27 school outreach events and regularly held Peking Opera camps, allowing students to experience the art up close.

"Many came in with little knowledge of Peking Opera," she recalls. "As we revealed its artistry step by step, their faces transformed from bewilderment to concentration, then to bright-eyed fascination and, finally, joy. That shift was moving."