Min Opera

Min Opera, also called 'Fuzhou opera,' is sung in the Fuzhou dialect and took shape around the late Ming and early Qing, growing out of the fusion of several earlier vocal styles. It is the representative opera of Fuzhou and the eastern and central Fujian region.

Min Opera blends a wide range of melodic styles, fields a full set of role types, and favors nuanced acting; its traditional repertoire draws on history and folklore, set to Fuzhou's distinctive instrumental accompaniment and steeped in local speech and tone.

As a living vessel of Fuzhou's dialect culture, Min Opera carries the language, customs and aesthetics of the old Min capital, and was inscribed on the first national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

It is performed chiefly across Fuzhou and the surrounding eastern and central Fujian, with shows and transmission activities often held in places such as the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys.