Peking Opera finds a colorful new canvas

Dressed in lavish costumes, makeup and exquisite headdresses, two actresses from China National Peking Opera Company, Fu Jia and Zhou Jing, perform extracts from two well-known Peking Opera works, The Drunken Concubine (Gui Fei Zui Jiu) and The Jewelry Purse (Suo Lin Nang) at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on a recent afternoon.

Sitting in the audience is Ding Liren, who is not just enjoying the performances but also sketching on his notebook.

"I love the look of Peking Opera actors, the movements and the emotions expressed. It is art," says the 86-year-old artist. It's a habit, which Ding has cultivated since he was 6 years old.