Chinese Kunqu opera masterpiece "The Peony Pavilion" (the youth version) was put on stage in the country's prestigious Peking University from Saturday to Monday, to mark the 20th anniversary performance of its debut.
Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest forms of opera in China with a history of hundreds of years, was placed on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2001.
Written by Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), "The Peony Pavilion" tells the story of the romance between a daughter of a wealthy official and a talented but poor young scholar.
The youth version of the opera on the other hand was created by Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater in east China's Jiangsu Province and Taiwan's famous playwright Pai Hsien-yung. It has received great reactions across Taiwan.
Debuted in Taipei, China's Taiwan region, 20 years ago, the opera has toured at home and abroad for over 500 performances, attracting about one million audience members, with most being young people.
The youth version of "The Peony Pavilion" focuses on the inheritance and innovation of traditional culture, drawing an increasing number of young audience members into the theater.
"We respect the classics but do not adhere rigidly to them, and we utilize modern elements without abusing them. Our production maintains the traditional components while carefully infusing modern stage aesthetics into the classic framework, for a successful combination of the traditional and the contemporary," Pai said.
The combination of ancient and modern arts entertain the audience greatly and receive rounds of applause.
"After I entered high school, I watched online videos of the youth version of 'The Peony Pavilion' online and immediately fell in love with it. This sparked my desire to make classical opera a primary focus of my research. Now, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am deeply moved to witness the live performance of the original cast," said a Kunqu enthusiast named Ye Zi.
Youth version of "The Peony Pavilion" staged in Peking University to mark its 20th anniversary
Ports in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) rendered record high passenger and vehicle flows during the week-long National Day holiday that ended on Monday.
The Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge witnessed more than 630,000 entry-exit passenger trips in the seven days, up 63.3 percent year on year. On Saturday alone, the port handled 22,600 inbound and outbound vehicles, setting a new daily record of vehicle traffic for the fourth time this year.
The Hengqin Port in Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province registered over 103,500 passenger trips on Oct. 3, the third day of the holiday, setting a new record of daily passenger flow since the port opened in 2000.
Many Hong Kong and Macao residents chose to travel northward to mainland cities to spend the holiday.
"I take my family and children to Zhuhai to enjoy local delicacies. We'll also go to shopping malls and see small animals," said a Hong Kong tourist surnamed Yu.
Mainland residents were also enthusiastic to travel south to Hong Kong and Macao as highway ports in Zhuhai logged more than 276,000 entry-exit trips made by mainland travelers during the holiday, up 81.1 percent year on year.
"We went to Hong Kong to see the grand firework show during the holiday. Then we visited the Ocean Park. We stayed in Hong Kong for three days," said a mainland tourist surnamed Zhu.
A special tour of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is also popular, as the mege cross-sea bridge that opened to traffic in October 2018 received 13,500 visits made by people from all over the country during the holiday, averaging 1,928 trips each day. Since the visit to the bridge was put into tourism itinerary tentatively in December 2023, the structure has received a total of 228,500 visits.
Ports in Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong recorded 5.294 million entry-exit passenger trips during the holiday, up 28.5 percent from the previous year.
Various celebrations, including the dazzling drone show in Shenzhen and the splendid firework shows in Hong Kong, fueled people's passion to make cross-border trips.
On Oct. 2 alone, mainland residents made a total of 421,000 trips through these ports, hitting a new high since their reopening after the pandemic. Since the mega cruise ship Costa Serena began its two-month seasonal homeporting deployment in Hong Kong, cruise tours have become a new craze among mainland tourists.
As of Monday, the Liantang border inspection station in Shenzhen had approved the pass of two large cruise tour groups made up of nearly 3,000 mainland tourists.
Record entries, exits registered in Greater Bay Area
