Touring concerts mix old Chinese art forms with Western music

When he toured with rock and folk bands earlier, he would often find himself watching CCTV's Chinese opera channel at hotels, he says.

"I feel sad when I see that the market for such old art forms is shrinking today. I can't help but think that I need to do something about it."

In 2014, he spoke with Chen Weilun, a film songwriter, about his desire to give the old Chinese operas a new touch.

They started with adapting episodes of Peony Pavilion, the Kunqu Opera classic, but failed after three months of experimenting.

"Chinese operas have their own rules, which is a priority for us before remixing songs," says Chen, also a producer for China Music House.

The players and DJs that they have invited for future tours are young, some of whom haven't heard old sounds of Chinese operas.

"We spend weeks listening to a piece of Chinese opera and then we improvise with jazz, rock and electronic beats in the style of Chinese opera singing. And after trying for long we get the most suitable combination," he adds.

Shi Xiaming, 31, who was born in Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province, and started learning Kunqu Opera at age 14, joined China Music House performances last year. He says Chinese operas face the challenge of attracting young audiences.

"This project helps to link old and new materials in performances," says Shi, an actor of the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Troupe.

Last year, Gao Wenbo, a well-known Shanghai pingtan artist, sang in the Suzhou dialect with a DJ, guitarist and percussionist playing in the background during a show. He is attracted to the project because of the immediate audience reaction, he says, just like "they would enjoy rock or folk".