Love story overcomes obstacles

The Weitou Bride, a theatrical production in the style of Gaojia Opera, a traditional art form of Quanzhou, Fujian province, will be staged at the China National Opera House in Beijing on Friday and Saturday.

Directed by Guo Xiaonan and written by playwright Chen Xinxin, the production tells the story of a native of Weitou village in Quanzhou. She first met a young man from Kinmen island in 1992 and later that year, they fell in love and wanted to get married. Despite the families' objection, they got married, making the woman the first from her village to marry a man from Taiwan since 1949.

When the 1992 Consensus was agreed, embodying the one-China policy, a major step in cross-Strait relations, their marriage was also agreed by the families. Later, more women from Weitou village married men from Taiwan.

The theatrical production was initiated by Quanzhou Gaojia Opera Heritage Center and performed by Gaojia Opera Troupe of Quanzhou, featuring Chen Juanjuan, a winner of the Plum Blossom Performance Award, the top honor for operas and dramas in China.

Gaojia Opera originated in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and combines folk music, dancing, and martial arts. The lyrics are sung in the Hakka dialect. In 2006, Gaojia Opera was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.