Shufeng Yayun Sichuan Opera Tea house

Ideal Place to Experience Sichuan Opera
Shufengyayun Sichuan Opera House, Shufengyayun, located in Chengdu Culture Park on Qintai Road, is the ideal place to experience the local arts. It is also the only one of its kind where you may enjoy the local tea, Opera and Arts shows in Sichuan Province. Featuring the Chinese traditional opera performances, unique talent shows, as well as opera costumes, exquisite handicrafts exhibits, the theater is just an ideal place for you to enjoy the local arts and culture.

Functioned for over a hundred years, Shufengyayun has attracted distinguished performers from across Sichuan Province who held China Sichuan Opera performances each evening. The show time is at 20:00 – 21:30. You’d better to go there a little bit earlier, for you have the chance to see how the performers make up, how they put their costumes on and even you can take some photos with them.This daily show continues to spread the traditional art to a new generation and keep the historic culture alive.

The Shufeng Yayun Teahouse has a special architecture style proper of Old West Shu Country, the old name of Sichuan Province. This building was once a tea house and assembly hall of famous Sichuan operatic actors. In recent years, it gathers the distinguished actors in Sichuan Province holding China’s Sichuan Opera unique skills performance for each evening.The show holds a series of performances like Gong and drums music, Stick-puppet show, Chinese trumpet, Humorous dialogues, Hand shadows and Changing faces.

Note: Opportunity to see Facial Make-up (Extra expense)

Facial make-up is a step of making-up for actors in traditional Chinese Opera. It’s normally painted in different designs on the face. Different people have specified types of facial make-up to express the different characters. For example: Red means loyalty, Black means frankness, and White means duplicity. In order to enjoy this activity, you need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the show and once you access the theatre, the staff will offer it to you. You have to pay on your own.

Sichuan opera (Chuan Ju ,Sichuanese Opera) is one of China’s oldest and most popular opera forms. Originated at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, different dramas were brought in to blend with the local dialect, customs, folk music and dances. Today’s Sichuan opera is a relatively recent synthesis of 5 historic melodic styles.

Feature of Sichuan Opera
Sichuan Opera features vivid, humorous narration, singing, and acrobatics. It also boasts a system of stylized movements and its acting is both exquisite and lively. Sichuan Opera performances are always full of wit, humor, lively dialogues, and pronounced local flavors.

Most Sichuan Opera repertoires are adapted from the Chinese classical novels, mythologies, legends, and folk tales. Statistics show that the total number of Sichuan Opera plays exceeds 2,000.

Virtual Vision from General Visitors:
“Sichuan Opera – A Taste of the Delights of the Orient” – The last item on the show is unique and shows the performers changing their masks instantly. It’s wonderful, no language problem and show last ninety minutes.

“Fun entertainment and taste of the culture” – The performance was more like a variety show than an opera. It consisted of traditional folk instrument selections, stick puppet show, hand shadow show, singing, comedy routine (which loses something if you don’t speak Chinese) and the famous changing faces and costumes.

Sichuan Opera Highlights

Face Changing
It is said that ancient people painted their faces to drive away wild animals. Sichuan Opera take in this ancient skill and perfects it into an art. Artistes in traditional costumes dance around, flicking their heads up/down or back/forth in an instant, changing the thin painted masks over their face. They do this it so quickly, and so frequently, you will be left amazed at how they could control the masks so skillfully.

Rolling Light

Fire Spitting

Shadow Play

Puppetry – a famous form to show the essence of Sichuan Opera.

It’s less of an opera in the classical sense, and more akin to a variety show featuring musical performances, puppetry, comedy, and of course, fire-breathing face changers for the finale.