Storyteller of Pingtan

A Chinese narrative musical tradition is being kept alive by Gao Bowen, who believes modernizing it will help popularize it among youngsters, Chen Nan reports.

At 17, Gao Bowen started to learn Pingtan, an ancient Chinese art form of singing and storytelling originated from Suzhou, Jiangsu province, with a history of more than 400 years. Today, at 45, he is the vice-president of Shanghai Pingtan Troupe that trains young students in the narrative musical tradition.

But Gao isn't the image of a typical inheritor of traditional Chinese arts - usually old-fashioned or stern-looking.