China / China

Children help keep nation’s treasure alive

(chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2010-11-03 16:56

A boy gets help with his makeup before he goes onstage at a Peking Opera training center in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, Nov 2, 2010. Zhu Rongling, who runs the center and was born to an opera family, felt distressed about the waning interest in Peking Opera. "But as an increasing number of foreigners took a fancy to the national treasure, I determined to open a club and teach Chinese kids Peking opera," she said. "Hopefully they can carry forward the culture." To create a decent learning environment, she combed the city for a spacious training site and bought all the costumes and equipment, which gave birth to Nanchang's first Peking Opera Fans Theater. Today, Zhu's children's opera troupe has expanded from four students to 100, aged 4 to 13, whose performance was well received in some nationwide competitions. They have been invited to attend the 2011 Hong Kong Art Festival. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]