Art lessons

Peking Opera troupes seek to draw younger audiences by teaching students to appreciate the traditional entertainment

It is a typical Thursday night for Zhang Xiurong, a freshman at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. The Shanghai native moved to the capital about three months ago to start her college years. Majoring in finance, she has just finished a higher mathematics class, which she said was head-scratchingly difficult.

Now though, instead of going to the library or hanging out with friends, Zhang is heading to the auditorium of the university, where nearly 800 students are waiting for a show to start. Not as might be expected a show by some up-and-coming band, but instead performances by Peking Opera actors and musicians from the Beijing Peking Opera Company.