18 Heartbreaking And Gorgeous Photos Of A Community Fighting To Keep Chinese Opera Alive
The Flower Lantern troupe are one of the last of their kind.
posted on Feb. 12, 2016, at 3:03 a.m.
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In the Chinese city of Kunming, elderly residents are putting on daily performances of traditional Chinese opera in a bid to keep a dying art alive.
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Chinese opera is a traditional form of performance that can incorporate art, music, dance, and martial arts.
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The Flower Lantern group of Yunnan perform daily shows above a food market. The Yunnan Opera has been staging performances for over 200 years, and has been awarded “Intangible Cultural Heritage” status by the Chinese government.
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All performers are over 50, do their own makeup, and perform one show a day.
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But a changing China means young people are turning to other forms of entertainment, shrinking audiences for opera.