Traditional operas staged in Beijing
Updated: 2007-06-08 10:07
Saturday is China's second national Cultural Heritage Day, which falls on June the 9th each year. To celebrate, rarely seen traditional Chinese operas from around the country are playing in the capital.
This is the popular Gaojia Opera from eastern Fujian province . As the most wide-spread traditional opera in the region, the local drama is famed for its funny and ironic clown performances. The vivid facial expressions and all-over body movements cement Gaojia Opera in a genre of rich body language.
The show is amongst 26 local traditional operas originating from across China. All are on the list of China's National Intangible Heritage. They're all being staged in Beijing this month, with performances ranging from big, traditional productions to street-corner skits. Most of the actors are folk artists who seldom perform in cities.
Less staging and a lack of apprentices interested in learning the traditional art have seen around 100 traditional operas fade away in the past 50 years.
More info about Intangible Cultural Heritage are in 
