Pupils in love with Peking Opera

Three years ago, several primary schools were chosen to run Peking Opera classes as part of the curriculum. The experiment has since proved that this profound ancient art resonates with many of the young.
So let's step into one of these schools in Nanjing, to find out why the pupils there have fallen in love with the performance art.
Students from Chengxianjie Primary School are taking part in this grand Peking Opera Cultural Festival. Dressed up as sheng, dan, jing and chou, the children put on a shining show with the Peking Opera repertoire. And grade 5 student, Ma Mingjun, is just one of the stars.
Ma Mingjun, student, said, "I felt great to understand the rhythm of Peking Opera. My love for it bursts out from deep in my heart. It's a kind of feeling that cannot be described with words."
Not only do the performers love opera, many audience members are also big aficionados. Holding hand-made opera masks, they shout and applaud their Peking Opera idols on stage.

Students from Chengxianjie Primary School are taking part in this grand Peking Opera Cultural Festival.

According to the headmaster, all of the masks - a thousand in total - are individual designs.
A Peking Opera student said, "I like the make-up of dan; it is a female role. Sheng, dan, jing and chou are distinguished on the basis of sex, age and personality".
A Peking Opera student said, "My mask is Jiang Wei. I like its colour. The shape of eyes is also beautiful."
In order to inspire the pupils' interest in Peking Opera, the school combined opera in one class made up of music, fine art, Chinese and history. What's more, a troupe of Peking Opera ! gymnasts was also developed.

Students from Chengxianjie Primary School are taking part in this grand Peking Opera Cultural Festival.

Cai Yan, headmaster, said, "The opera class has received a warm welcome by students. Now, they seem to love the Chinese culture more and more."
Three years have passed since the first Peking Opera class was opened in primary schools. There has been much success. So much so, it is expected to be made available in more schools around the country.