French vocalist and blogger Alice Roche, renowned for performing Chinese songs in her native language on social media, never expected to fall in love with Kunqu Opera. However, years ago, she discovered the ancient art form and learned its songs and gestures from a professional teacher.
"It's been a super interesting experience," she says. "I especially love the lanhua zhi (orchid finger gesture). It beautifully showcases the elegance of traditional hand movements."
For Roche, the appeal goes deeper than aesthetics. "Ancient culture can help us better understand our world, society, and the mechanisms of our traditions," Roche explains. "We can discover more beauty and aesthetics in humanity through these ancient arts."
Meanwhile, university student Liu Yuxuan is reinterpreting traditional opera for a digitally native generation. When he posted his Peking Opera rendition of the Ultraman Tiga story on social media, he expected little more than a few curious clicks.
Instead, his inbox exploded overnight with thousands of messages. Young viewers flooded the comments section, calling his work "abstract", an internet slang term used to describe something so unexpectedly brilliant that it defies conventional logic.
"Many said it sounded strange at first listen, but they couldn't stop replaying it," says the 22-year-old information management and systems major, known online as "Yuzhou Axuan".
Now, Liu's unconventional approach attracts millions of views by adapting everything from the children's live-action series Balala the Fairies to Peppa Pig into traditional opera formats.
Modern lyrics, old melodies
Liu's opera journey began in his hometown of Chizhou, Anhui province, where regional opera traditions run deep. His father and grandmother regularly sang Huangmei Opera folk songs during their leisure time, creating his earliest musical memories.
"I grew up listening to Huangmei Opera, but I specifically chose Peking Opera because it is widely perceived as high art," Liu explains. "Using such an 'elevated' art form with modern elements creates maximum contrast and impact."
Despite having no formal training, he taught himself by listening repeatedly to recordings. He playfully describes his works as "ultra-traditional" Peking Opera, a term inspired by Ultraman's ultra-ancient setting.
"Comments are divided," Liu says with amusement. "Some view ultra-traditional as meaning deeply conservative, while others see it as transcending tradition. I prefer to simply give the audience space to interpret the meaning for themselves."
Creating these crossover works requires Liu to carefully match new lyrics to classical melodies while preserving the intricate tonal patterns, rhythmic structures, and rhyme schemes that define authentic opera performances.
His creative process typically begins with story analysis before selecting appropriate opera segments. For short video platforms, Liu typically chooses xipi liushui (flowing-water rhythm) sections, a rapid-flowing style that matches contemporary attention spans.
Recently, he collaborated with Liu Shuoyu, a dan (female role) performer from the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, on an adaptation of Titanic, creating a duet version with traditional spoken dialogue. The professional performer, who had previously participated in an innovative anti-fraud-themed Peking Opera campaign, was intrigued by Liu Yuxuan's approach.
"Working with a professional made me realize how much precision goes into every phrase," the university student admits. "I've learned tremendously in terms of professional techniques."
Building a fan base
Liu Yuxuan's audience data reveals that 52 percent of his followers are under 23, with another 25 percent between 24 and 30 years old — age groups traditionally considered lost to opera. One mother even shared that Liu Yuxuan's Ultraman opera has become her 10-year-old son's constant audio companion.
This generational shift is increasingly visible in theaters. Lu Qian, a young opera enthusiast from Zhejiang province who attended nearly 40 performances in one year, confirms this trend. "When I go to theaters, about a third of the audience consists of young people," she observes.
Having watched Yueju Opera with her grandparents as a child, Lu rediscovered the art form during graduate school. "Many people who love opera have childhood memories providing that foundation," she explains. "These early impressions create connections that draw you back later in life."
Lu's interests span multiple opera forms including Yueju, Kunqu, and Huangmei operas. Despite a busy work schedule, she tracks specific performers or particularly noteworthy productions. She estimates spending 2,000-3,000 yuan ($293-440) annually on tickets, not counting travel expenses for performances in Shanghai, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Such dedication is increasingly common among young opera enthusiasts.
Beyond acting as spectators, many young enthusiasts are also taking up the art themselves. During her postgraduate studies, Lu joined a university Yueju Opera society, and she continues to take evening classes at professional institutions alongside students of all ages.
Similarly, Huang Yibao, a graduate student from Guangdong's Chaoshan region, grew up with village opera performances during traditional festivals. Though not fully understanding the art as a child, Huang became captivated by hometown opera on television around age 12 and has maintained this passion since.
Today, she has also turned her passion into her academic pursuit, researching how traditional theater adapts to rapid social change while maintaining essential characteristics and cultural values.
Studying in Wuhan, Hubei province, Huang regularly attends productions, sometimes watching more than 30 performances annually. Her current favorite is Yueju Opera from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, drawn to its melodious vocals and romantic stories.
"The most compelling aspect of watching opera live is the shared emotional experience with other audience members," she explains. "When performers hit a climax, the collective appreciation in the room creates an electric, deeply satisfying atmosphere."
These modern opera communities also mirror contemporary fan culture. Young enthusiasts exchange homemade promotional materials and design stylized performance posters. Some performers attract dedicated followings similar to pop star fandom.
Popular performers like Chen Lijun and Li Yunxiao regularly have banners held up by fans, Huang says. "Following opera performers is completely normal, just like entertainment celebrities."
Innovation within tradition
Contemporary productions increasingly embrace technological enhancement while preserving artistic integrity. The Zhejiang Zhongyue Wuju Performance Co troupe's adaptation of Monkey King Subdues White-Skeleton Demon incorporates drones as buzzing bees and robot canines playing howling celestial dogs, alongside naked-eye 3D elements.
Such innovations have helped the production garner significant attention online, while drawing packed houses during its tours. At an April cultural symposium on traditional opera dissemination, troupe leader Hu Pingping noted that blending modern technology with classical stagecraft has become a vital internet "traffic code" for broadening the art's crossover appeal.
"These technological elements don't create any sense of discord," Huang argues. "Instead, they enhance the spectacle while leaving the essential traditional characteristics intact."
Recent performances have pushed creative boundaries further. During the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing's 2026 New Year's Eve performance, acclaimed actor Yang Shaopeng appeared as a clown character with Peppa Pig-inspired face paint in a comedic adaptation of Journey to the West. Meanwhile, one of Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company's performances featured a matchmaker character mixing English phrases with traditional dialogue.
Future horizons
A national survey conducted between 2015 and 2017 recorded 348 distinct traditional opera forms across China. While 48 are major styles distributed across multiple provinces, 300 are highly localized, regional varieties.
Since 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has implemented targeted preservation projects, utilizing government-funded service procurement to support 227 of these varieties, which have no State-sponsored troupes or only one State troupe.
In February 2026, five government departments jointly issued a three-year action plan for dramatic arts revival, focusing on supporting theater troupes, improving repertoire quality, enhancing evaluation and funding efficiency, strengthening talent development, and expanding outreach to cultivate young audiences.
Despite growing enthusiasm, challenges persist. "I don't want these arts to disappear, but traditional opera faces decline without market viability or genuine passion from practitioners," Lu observes.
During Liu Yuxuan's summer visits to intangible cultural heritage inheritors, elderly artists consistently identified succession and limited markets as primary concerns. Regional opera forms face particular challenges, often restricted to specific geographical areas with shrinking audiences.
Nevertheless, social media platforms offer grounds for optimism. "Mobile phones and short videos let young people like us access opera culture conveniently, supporting promotion and inheritance," Liu Yuxuan says.
"I hope people move past the stereotype that opera is only for the elderly," he adds. "These arts deserve our attention — not just for the stories on stage, but also for the profound dedication and persistence of the performers."
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