[InKunming--Yunnan] On January 16, the 1st Yunnan Traditional Drama & Quyi performance kept putting on the stage at No. 88 Nanqiang Street. Artists from Baoshan, Zhaotong, Dali, Qujing and Xishuangbanna presented a cultural feast showing the unique charm of local drama in Yunnan.

The hall was crowded with audience and classic repertoire which told the Chinese traditional filial piety and virtues. One of the most striking show was the shadow play performed by Baoshan artists. Two phantasmagoric characters Monkey King and God Erlang from Journey to the West, a masterpiece of China, attracted the attention of young audience. The traditional dialect singing and shadow puppetry gave audience a chance to experience the glamour of traditional drama culture.

The national intangible cultural heritage inheritors Liu Yongzhou who is also the fourth generation of Liujiazhai shadow puppetry said that shadow puppetry has been introduced into Tengchong county for hundreds of years. His grandson also became the sixth generation to inherit this traditional culture. Compared with others, the biggest difference in Tengchong is that the performers make shadow puppetry by themselves. He will cultivate apprentices in the future in order to expose more young people to shadow puppetry and to propagate traditional culture.

During the event, more than 500 representatives of intangible cultural heritage and cast group from 14 cities in Yunnan brought 33 programs, including 12 traditional drama, 6 kinds of quyi. The local drama and quyi are known as traditional form of performance, which inherits cultural tradition and expects a creative transformation nowadays. This performance displays stories coming from life, and makes people closer to experience the enchantment of traditional drama and quyi.

Click here to view Chinese report

(Editors: Christine, Rachel)