TV time for Peking opera

A new entertainment program will show established masters teaching celebrities aspects of the traditional Chinese art form. Chen Nan reports.

For the past four decades, Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing has managed to stay in media spotlight. She has played various roles - from young mother and small town girl to the most powerful women in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi and the empress consort Wu Zetian.

Recently, the actress tried roles in the classic Peking Opera Phoenix Returning to its Nest. She played two sisters with different looks and personalities in the piece - the elder sister, who is beautiful and has good manners; and the younger one, who is not so good-looking and unconstrained by traditional etiquette.