Modern take on an ancient art

Wang also released a new pop single Shao Nian Xing (Ode to Youth) that has lyrics reminiscent of ancient Chinese poetry, and a music style also featuring a touch of Peking Opera. On the first day of its release, the song was played 140,000 times on the CloudMusic platform.

In the past few years, she has frequently appeared on talk shows, reality television programs and livestreaming platforms, and has even launched her own ranges of merchandise.

Bridge to youth

For many young Chinese fans, their first exposure to Peking Opera came from seeing Wang. Her talk shows, public appearances and social media activities are all tailored to young audiences.

In 2010, Wang pioneered a new way of performing Peking Opera by founding an innovative recital under the name of Qing Yin Hui (Concert of Pure Sound). During these concerts, she and other artists would appear onstage without the heavy makeup or costumes typically seen in Peking Opera productions.

She would then sing a piece before analyzing the characters and explaining its historical background, and the nature of the performance and singing styles to the audience. These livestreamed concerts turned out to be very popular-Wang staged nine performances in eight cities in 2019 alone.

Wang Xiaolei, a fan of Wang Peiyu's who works in the finance department of an international company, attended four of these recitals in 2019.

"I am from Shanghai and nobody in my family used to enjoy Peking Opera," she told China Daily after the launch of Wang Peiyu's new book, Tai Shang Jian (See You on the Stage), in October.

She says she first saw Wang in Roast, a talk show streamed live, which attracted her to Peking Opera.