Chu Opera

Chu opera, once called the "o-he tune" or Huang-Xiao flower-drum theater, took form in the Huangpi and Xiaogan area during the Qing Daoguang reign and was formally renamed Chu opera in 1926, with over 150 years of history.

Chu opera blends metered arias with folk ditties, using plain language and lifelike acting well suited to folk stories and everyday sentiment; it is popular across central-eastern Hubei, including Wuhan, Xiaogan and Huanggang.

As one of Hubei's most grassroots opera forms, Chu opera carries the dialect, folk customs and popular aesthetics of the Jianghan plain.

Huangpi is regarded as the cradle of Chu opera, and professional troupes in Wuhan sustain its performance and transmission.