Beijing's guilds enter golden era

Renovated historical buildings find new life as cultural centers and theaters, offering visitors a glimpse of the past, Chen Nan reports.

Tucked away in a hutong area in downtown Beijing, the Huguang Huiguan, or the Huguang Guild Hall, a complex of buildings over 200 years old, is in the process of being reborn.

After over a year of renovations, it is finally ready to reopen as a theater for performances of traditional Chinese operas, among them Peking, Kunqu and Yueju opera.

The Huguang Guild Hall dates back to 1807 and was built by Liu Quanzhi, a scholar from Changsha in Hunan province, and Li Junjian, a government official from Huanggang in Hubei province. It originally functioned as a cultural, business, and social center, and served the increasing number of people from the two provinces living in the capital.

With its courtyards and halls, the complex is most famous for its center stage, where Peking Opera masters such as Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), Tan Xinpei (1847-1917) and Yu Shuyan (1890-1943), once performed.

"Everything has come together and we are just thrilled," says actor Song Yan, who heads the Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Company.

On the night of Jan 10, the company put on a performance of Huguang Hui Meng, an opera production Song wrote especially for the Huguang Guild Hall, and which is currently in a trial run.

As giant red doors open, the audience is greeted by performers, who serve as narrators ushering them into the show's dream world. Since the show takes place at night, the performers hold red lanterns to light the way as they guide the audience around the complex.