Promoting traditional operas in schools

Primary school students in Hefei, Anhui province, learn how to perform Peking Opera. [Photo by Zhang Dagang/provided to China Daily]

Primary school students in Hefei, Anhui province, learn how to perform Peking Opera under the guidance of their tutor during a lesson.

Supported by the central government in a campaign to promote Chinese traditional operas in schools, students will be given the opportunity to appreciate traditional operas at little cost, according to guidelines issued by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China and the ministries of culture, education and finance. Students in all schools and colleges nationwide can watch an opera free of charge every year by 2020. There are hundreds of forms of local opera in China, with Peking Opera being the most famous. Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera are listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.