Tradition under the spotlight

It took Qin Renjun two days from his home in Yinjiang Tujia and Miao autonomous county, in Southwest China's Guizhou province, to reach Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the long journey winding through mist-shrouded mountains and sleepy villages.

He carried his hand-carved Nuo Opera masks and a quiet resolve.

Arriving at a studio in Hangzhou, where a young audience had already begun streaming into the venue to film the reality program, My Show, he entered a world where pop idols and centuries-old traditions collide in real time.

Qin was born into a family that practices an enigmatic cultural element, Nuo, which imbues the natural sublimity of Fanjing Mountain with a sense of mystery. Nuo culture encapsulates a range of cultural practices. It can be a form of dance, an opera style, a ritual, or an acrobatic performance, passed down since ancient times by people hoping to invite good fortune into their lives while seeking to ward off evil spirits. Nuo Opera is ancient and preserved in his home.

By the age of 5, Qin was trailing his father through villages, performing rituals to bless the locals. "I thought it was just fun as a kid," he recalls. "But it quickly became my duty, my family's pride."

After college, he rejected a stable job to preserve the ancient art. "Every piece I collected, every manuscript I copied, felt like pulling Nuo Opera back from the edge of oblivion," he says.

He traveled across Guizhou, gathering scattered elderly practitioners, recording performances, and reconstructing traditions ignored by the world.

For Qin, appearing on modern stages like My Show, adapting tradition for young audiences and broadcasting live online, gives the art form new life.

"I want young people to see it, love it, and keep it alive," says Qin, who took about 20 Nuo Opera masks to the show, all handmade by local craftsmen and each representing a different character in the opera. With diverse means of artistic expression, the iconic masks worn by the performers are a core element of the performance. Usually decorated in bright colors and with extravagant expressions, the wooden masks represent different characters.

The reality show is produced by Tencent Music Entertainment Group and is scheduled to be streamed in June, but with a singular twist: each performance must be produced on a budget of just 10,000 yuan ($1,477).

"It's not about spectacle," says Wu Kefei, the show's director. "Pop idols aren't just performers here; they are curators, producers and storytellers. The small budget forces them to focus on the story, on the meaning, on the culture they are presenting."

For the Hangzhou venue, the studio is spacious, with a very high ceiling and a large floor area that can accommodate 800 to 1,000 people, and fans sit very close to the performers, he adds.

In one episode of the show, Duan Yixuan, a young pop singer known for her emotive vocals and fluid choreography, worked with Qin on adapting her original song Eternal Lament into a new production.

Guided by Qin, each mask she wore on stage carried a character and a story. The weight of wood and paint was literal and metaphorical, pressing on her shoulders as she learned to move in ways her usual pop routines never demanded.

"At first, it was intimidating," Duan says. "The dance steps are precise. Every gesture and tilt of the head has meaning. You can't just 'perform' it. You have to feel it, live it."

Her song, Eternal Lament, has been adapted to fit the rhythms of Nuo Opera, the drumbeats punctuating the emotional arc of the original opera. Duan herself has altered verses, slowed certain passages, and modified the choreography to echo the ceremonial gestures she has been practicing.

"It was a balance," she says. "I didn't want to lose the pop essence of my music, but I also couldn't dilute the ritual. The challenge was creating harmony, not compromise."

For Duan, that evolution meant late nights rehearsing under the guidance of Qin, adjusting movements while balancing the masks, testing rhythm, and reworking emotional beats. One of the most demanding sequences juxtaposed a ceremonial Nuo ritual with scenes of daily life, a visual metaphor for the persistence of tradition in modern society. "I had to show reverence for the ritual while expressing the ordinary human struggles beneath it," she says. "It took patience and countless repetitions."

The project's innovation has been supported by local officials. Yuan Hang, deputy director of the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Center in Xihu district, Hangzhou, has been involved since the show announced its Hangzhou leg.

"Our city has a wealth of intangible heritage — Nuo Opera, tea culture, calligraphy and local crafts," Yuan says. "But these traditions often remain behind glass. This show brings them into contemporary life. Young audiences don't just watch; they experience it and connect with it."

Yuan described how the government went beyond logistical support. Venues were arranged, artisans were paired with performers, and every step of the production received mentorship from heritage specialists.

"In China, most music reality shows follow the traditional logic and approach of large-scale variety shows: the stage looks great, the artists perform, and then leave," says Wu. "For the producers and production teams, these projects require substantial investment. Currently, the variety show market emphasizes budgeting. Our starting point is a small, long-term, and stable stage."

The director adds that this show is also integrated with Tencent's music chart, the TME Uni Chart, for promotional performances, adding an interactive, ranking-based element to the program.

In another episode, the theme is tea culture with Tamdrin, who is also known as Ding Zhen, from the Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province. He became a social media sensation in November 2020 after a photographer posted a 7-second video of his smiling face. Shortly after, he was appointed Sichuan's cultural tourism ambassador and has since participated in numerous variety shows.

According to the show's producer, Shang Hui, fans organized a truck, a transparent container, balloons, and photos, to show their support for Ding Zhen, which created a strong sense of interaction.

"This is what we aimed for," the producer notes. "A genuine fusion where idols bring energy and accessibility and masters bring authenticity. The audience doesn't just see a performance — they feel a culture that has survived for generations.

"The heritage is not dusty or irrelevant. It can be modern, emotional, and alive, and it can be part of everyday life, pop music, and youth culture," Shang adds.