Guangxi strives to preserve opera

Observing a caidiao opera being performed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region can be a surreal experience.

Men and women in their 70s and 80s don costumes and makeup to appear as young couples in their 20s, all the while singing "colorful tunes" - the literal translation of caidiao - at the top of their lungs.

Local caidiao opera troupes aren't trying to amuse the audience by having the elderly play the young. The once popular tradition now fails to draw young performers and subsequently has a huge shortage of actors.