Yue Opera

Yue opera arose around Shengzhou (old Sheng county) near Shaoxing, growing out of the rural storytelling-song form 'luodi changshu'; in 1906 performers built a makeshift stage in Dongwang village and brought the song-storytelling onto the stage, giving the opera its first shape.

Known for gentle, lyrical singing and all-female troupes, Yue opera matured by absorbing repertoire and staging from neighbouring forms; it flowered in Shanghai and across China and is reckoned the country's second-largest opera. It entered the first national ICH list in 2006.

Yue opera epitomises the operatic culture of the lower Yangtze; Shengzhou, its birthplace, hosts over a hundred private troupes, and the form is now a key cultural emblem of Shaoxing.

Shengzhou is the cradle of Yue opera, and performances are common at old-town stages across the Shaoxing area.