Qinqiang Opera hits a high note among fans

With every generation having its own soundtrack, the charm of Qinqiang Opera has gone beyond generations, pulling on the heartstrings of a new audience. During a recent show by the An Wan Qinqiang Opera troupe in Lanzhou, Gansu province, tens of thousands of fans were captivated by the impressive vocal delivery and dynamic rhythms.

Qinqiang Opera, which is performed in the Shaanxi dialect and known for its intense rhythm and high-pitched singing, was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Developed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it became popular in Northwest China, mainly in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. It typically features a solo singer accompanied by percussion instruments, such as Chinese drums and cymbals, and is often based on historical or legendary stories.

As other forms of traditional opera in the country have been seeking to increase their audience, the An Wan Qinqiang Opera troupe has gone viral both online and offline with its latest performance on Jan 8 viewed more than 2 million times on the streaming platform Kuaishou.

Before the show started, tens of thousands gathered at the square to enjoy a visual and vocal feast.

With vibrant costumes, bold makeup and unique vocals and movements, Qinqiang Opera used to be a daily "must" for older generations in the northeastern region.

Besides many middle-aged and elderly audience members, there were also many children and teenagers present.

"The performance is so down-to-earth, which is the Qinqiang Opera of my childhood memory," says Zhang Zhifa, from Tianshui, Gansu, who has been following the troupe online and has witnessed its route to fame.

"I brought my fifth-grade son to experience the intangible cultural heritage," says a man surnamed Li from Lanzhou.

Seeing the increasing number of young people watching the Qinqiang Opera has made the troupe's head An Wan happy.

"I want young people to love the genre and try singing it. I have more than 1.2 million followers on social media now, with about 300,000 being born in the 1990s and 2000s who have kept motivating me to let the opera be known by more people," the 47-year-old man says about his account on Kuaishou.

Invited by the streaming platform, his troupe performed in Xi'an, Shaanxi, from Dec 23 to 30. According to statistics, the video and streaming contents related to their performance have been viewed more than 140 million times.

Ma Jingna contributed to the story.