The Fifth Chinese Shaoxing Opera (Yueju) Festival concluded with big success on August 20 in its birthplace, Shengzhou, a county-level city of Shaoxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, according to Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Zhejiang Provincial Government. “Originated in Shengzhou, Yueju is the representative of Zhejiang culture, and Shaoxing and Shengzhou have profound foundation of Yueju. The Opera Festival has permanently landed in Shaoxing along with a glorious mission and great responsibility, said Chu Ziyu, an official with the Zhejiang Provincial government at the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony started with the classic Shaoxing Opera “Butterfly Lovers”. It vividly demonstrated the hundred-year development course of Yueju — bold in exploration, brave in reform.  The festival, with “Shaoxing Opera Festival, People’s Festival” as its headline, ran from July 31 to Aug 20. The festival attracted the participation of 15 high-quality plays from all over the country, together with other Yueju activities such as Global Yueju Fanciers Carnival, Shaoxing Teenagers for Classic Yueju, and the 100 Plays in 100 Places as schools, communities, villages, and squares. The Chinese Shaoxing Opera Festival is a national art festival held in Zhejiang every four years, started in 2006. It has played a great role in preserving Chinese traditional culture and promoting its development and prosperity. “We will take the festival as a new starting point, continue the innovation in Yueju tradition and broaden the market. We will also strengthen the integration of Yueju and cultural tourism, nurture Yueju talents, and strive to build Shaoxing at a new and higher level,” said Ding Ruxing, an official from Shaoxing city government.  Shaoxing Opera, originated in Shengzhou county of Shaoxing, dubbed “the second national opera,” following Peking Opera, is the most popular local opera. Shaoxing Opera is good at lyrics, mainly singing. It is beautiful in voice and primarily focuses on the theme of love stories. “Butterfly lovers”, “A Dream of Red Mansions”, “Mu Guiying Takes Command”, etc., are well-known Shaoxing Opera repertoires both at home and abroad.  For more stories on Yueju and Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Please enjoy the following four official media platforms of Shaoxing Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio Television and Tourism. People are welcome to check them out: Follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaoxingCity/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShaoxingCity Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaoxing_city/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnw4jLDU9EJ09-7HU57TiyA Contact person： Sasa Guan Email: [email protected] Source: Zhejiang Provincial Government