Qinqiang Opera Festival opens in Xi'an

The Qinqiang Opera Festival opened on August 28 in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. More than 20 troupes from five regions, led by Qinghai and Ganshu, joined the gala and enjoyed this amazing theatrical entertainment.

the opening ceremony of the Qinqiang Opera Festival

Qinqiang is a thousand-year-old operatic genre originating in China's northwestern region. It has established a reputation as a "shouted" form of opera with its bold, resounding arias.

Some of the most established Qinqiang opera artists sang their respective masterpieces at the festival's opening ceremony.

Most forms of Chinese opera owe their singing and acting styles, some of their melodies, and their plot-lines to the musically fertile Sha'anxi. The province is home to thousand-year-old Qinqiang folk melodies.

Qinqiang is also called "random pluck." It's one of the oldest and most extensive of the four major types of Chinese opera, and thrives in the country's northwestern regions, like Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, and the Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions.

This distinctive opera actually comes closer to local yodeling than real opera. It originated in the fields and countryside. Locals would shout out one to another across the fields, and they gradually developed a system of communication through song.

Qinqiang has evolved into an established theatre style, but retains its bold, rustic side. The pitch is extremely high and the aria timbre is loud and sonorous, keeping in tune with the forthright, valiant and industrious character of the local people.

Residents of Xi'an take pride in their region as a historic center of Chinese civilization and in their distinctive traditions of folk singing.

During the festival, a grand choral singing of the opera, involving hundreds of Qinqiang fans, will be held on the historic city walls of Xi'an.

The festival will run till September 7. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to charity to help those affected in the mudslide in Zhouqu, Ganshu and flood-stricken citizens in the southern part of Shaanxi.