The city of Ruzhou, Henan province, has taken measures for ways to encourage the development of Quju opera.

First, the city strived to fund local performance groups. Ruzhou now has over 100 professional and amateur Quju opera troupes staffed with over 10,000 vocal artists who produce 1,000 Quju opera performances yearly. The prosperity of the industry greatly enriches people's cultural life and brings good economic benefits.

Second, the city has set up Ruzhou's Performing Arts School and organized Quju opera workshops regularly. Ruzhou also pushed the bring-culture-to-the-countryside project, which provided a platform to train more Quju opera talents.

Third, Ruzhou has hosted three opera festivals since 2006, attracting Quju opera masters all over China.

Quju opera originated in Ruzhou. It is among the top eight operas in China and the second largest opera in Henan province. Quju shares a common bond with people and has a strong local flavor. Nowadays it is becoming more and more popular in other Chinese regions, including Hebei province, Anhui province, Hubei province, Shaanxi province, the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Taiwan. The mellow and exquisite opera has also impressed overseas Chinese.

By Huang Pei

Edited by Michael Thai