Maoqiang Opera

Maoqiang is a local opera popular in the Jiaodong region of Shandong, evolved from folk tunes and sung storytelling, deeply rooted in the Qingdao and Gaomi area with a strong rural flavour.

Its singing is plain and lilting, close to the local dialect, with a distinctive rising tail note; folk nickname it for its power to hold an audience spellbound, and its plots draw on everyday life and folk tales.

Maoqiang is a national-level item of intangible cultural heritage and an important representative of Jiaodong local opera, reflecting the region's language, customs and tastes and much loved by rural audiences.

It can be enjoyed at local opera performances, temple fairs and folk events in Qingdao and the wider Jiaodong region, where troupes and cultural venues keep up rehearsal and transmission.