The Huaiju Opera piece premiered in 2014 and has toured nationally, with over 100 performances. It tells the story of local families living in an old town and their life changes after a wealthy businessman, who once lived there, returns to the town.

"Thanks to the award-winning Huaiju Opera piece, audiences from around the country became interested in learning more about the traditional art form. The goal of making a 'Huaiju Opera small town' in the Jiulongkou Scenic Area is to offer people a closer look at Huaiju Opera and a tour experience of Jiulongkou," says Xie.

Xie notes that there are many legends about Shazhuang and Jiulongkou. One of them is about Huaiju Opera actor, He Jiaotian (1919-2004), who was born there and some of whose ashes were buried in Jiulongkou.