A Glimpse at Traditional Chinese Culture — Beijing Teahouses and Drama Theaters (2)

A glimpse at traditional Chinese culture — Beijing teahouses and drama theaters (2)

Colorful Beijing leaves people with many options to experience traditional Chinese culture. Drama theaters spread across the city are very much worth exploring.

Huguang Guild Hall

Founded by Beijing residents coming from Hunan and Hubei Provinces, this theater provides a place for lodging and a gathering of fellow townsmen. It has a history of more than 190 years dating back to 1807 when investments were gathered for its foundation. At that time, its premier role was to host students who came to the city to sit the Royal Exam and officials who were waiting for their nomination.

It was also one of centers of political and social life in the late Qing Dynasty, where officials and average persons had fun together, dining, chatting and watching Beijing Opera staged by famous actors.

It was renovated starting in 1990 and the Grand Theater opened to the public on May 8, 1996. Some top actors such as Mei Baojiu and Zhang Xuejin attended its debut. From then on, it has been a major stage of Beijing Opera. In 1997, the hall was opened to the public as a whole and renamed Beijing Museum of Traditional Opera. It is the only guild hall featuring a theater and the first to be renovated and opened in line with its original layout. Address: No.3, Hufangqiao Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing Tel: (8610) 6352- 9140

Liyuan Theater

Run in conjunction with the Peking Opera Theatre, this spacious venue seats 1,000 people who cram in for the carefully-selected repertoire of Beijing Opera pieces. The ambiance is the closest you will get to the way the masses used to enjoy this art. When you sit at the old fashioned square table for eight people (Ba Xian Zhuo), appreciating the singing, recitals, dancing, acrobatics and martial arts of the performance, you will definitely feel intoxicated by its artistic beauty. Address: 1/F, Qianmen Hotel, 175 Yong’an Lu, Xuanwu District Tel: (8610) 6301-6688 Dongyuan Theater

This theater was specifically constructed for traditional drama performance and cultural exchange. It covers an area of 2,000 square meters and was built in the style of a Beijing courtyard. Address: In the Garden of Changpu River, Tiananmen Tel: (8610) 6417-0068

Grand View Theater

This theater has been influenced by the surrounding “Red Mansion” culture. It mainly puts on a “Red Mansion Dinner Dance,” presenting before your eyes a setting like fairyland on Earth. Set in the Qing Dynasty, and taking the national performance style and relying on the atmosphere of the classical garden in the Grand View Garden, the dance is a set of dinner dances to go with the “Red Mansion Dinner.” Delicately made, it is endowed with unique characteristics referring to the plot and story of “A Dream of Red Mansions.” The beautiful and colorful scene combines tradition with modernity, martial arts with acrobatics, masculinity with femininity, culture with catering and performance with participation in a natural, ingenious and organic way. Be sure to come and see this the performance. Address: No.12, Nan Cai Yuan Street, Xuanwu District (Inside the Grand View Garden Park) Tel: (8610) 6351-9025 Gongwangfu Theater

This wood structure has survived intact for more than 100 years. It houses a large stage and can seat over 200 spectators comfortably. The hall also boasts some of the best acoustics in town for Beijing Opera. Even when seated far from the stage, you can hear every note clearly. Address: Inside Prince Gong’s Palace, A14, Liuyin Jie, Houhai Tel: (8610) 6618-0573

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