Pingju Opera (Shenyang)

Pingju arose around Tangshan in Hebei in the late nineteenth century from forms such as lianhualuo song-storytelling; reaching the northeast, it took root in Shenyang, nurturing the Han, Hua and Xiao performance schools.

Pingju features colloquial lyrics, clear diction and lively, free staging in a banqiang melodic system, well suited to domestic and everyday themes; the Shenyang Pingju Theatre has long been its national protective institution.

Pingju entered the first national intangible heritage list in 2006; the Shenyang Pingju Theatre, one of the declaring units, is a key center for the art of its female-role schools.