Peking Opera, the national quintessence of China, is very popular among the general public of Beijing. The origin of Peking Opera can be traced to several ancient local operas. In 1790, the four local theatrical troupes of Anhui Province, namely Sanqing, Sixi, Chungong and Hechun, came to Beijing to show their skills one after another, which scored a smash. From then on the Anhui troupes often co-performed with the actors of Han Melody from Hubei Province, and they brought about a new kind of opera that was based on the “Erhuang” of Anhui Melody and “Xipi” of Han Melody and integrated the essence of other folk operas such as Kunqu, Qinqiang and Bangzi. That was the prototype of Peking Opera. During the 200-year evolution, Peking Opera had been gradually localized in Beijing in terms of its libretto, spoken parts and rhymes. It has also combined the different traits of several nationalities by employing musical instruments like “Erhu” and “Jinghu”. All these have helped make Peking Opera a mature form of art. Peking Opera incorporates singing, dancing, martial art, melody, painting and literature into a whole, which is somewhat like the westerners use the words Peking Opera when referring to it. Besides Peking Opera, there are other national legacies of Beijing such as Shuanghuang, Cross alk, Storytelling.
Acrobatics, and Beijing-style Flower Drum.
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