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With its fascinating and artistic music, singing and costumes, the Beijing Opera(Peking opera) is China's national opera. Full of Chinese cultural traditions and tidbits, the opera presents the audience with touching stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures, and martial arts.

It is believed that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790 when the four famous Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing. Peking Opera underwent fast development during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi and eventually became more accessible to the common people. Although it is called Peking Opera, its main melodies primarily originated from Xipi, Anhui and Erhuang, Hubei. The dialogue used for the opera is an archaic dialect that also has roots from those regions. Over time, various music and arias from other musical art forms were absorbed. It was partly this process of taking the cream of the crop of musical styles that contributed to Peking Opera 's success.

In ancient times, Beijing Opera was performed mostly on stage in the open air, teahouses, or temple courtyards. Since the orchestra played loudly, the performers developed a piercing style of song that could be heard by everyone. The costumes were a garish collection of sharply contrasting colors to stand out on the dim stage that was illuminated only by oil lamps. It is also a visual art from that integrates music, actor 's performances, literature, aria, and face-painting. The rules for Beijing Opera have been standardized and must be followed strictly. Only the very top actors and musicians can ever perform in a big time show.

Opera band
The Peking Opera band mainly consists of an orchestra and percussion band. The former frequently accompanies peaceful scenes while the latter provides the right atmosphere for battles. The percussion instruments used most commonly include castanets, drums, bells, and cymbals. One person usually plays the castanets and drums simultaneously. These instruments direct the entire band with their rhythm. The orchestral instruments include tradition Chinese instruments like the Erhu, Huqin, Yueqin, Sheng (reed pipe), and Pipa (lute).

Facial Painting
The exact origin of facial painting is unknown, but its artistic value cannot be denied. The paintings are representations of the characters' roles. For example, a red face usually depicts heroic bravery, uprightness, and loyalty; a white face symbolizes a sinister, treacherous, and guile character while a green face denotes surly stubbornness, impetuosity, and lack of self-restraint. The unique makeup allows characters on stage to portray their traits and emotions silently.

Xingtou
Peking Opera costumes are called "Xingtou" or, more popularly, "Xifu." The costumes are graceful and magnificent, expertly made in handicraft embroidery. Making use of traditional Chinese patterns, the costumes have a high aesthetic value. Since each dynasty in Chinese history had its own unique operatic costume, the number of costumes was too great for performers to master. Hence, artists and costume designers worked together to create costumes that could be used no matter when or where the action was supposed to take place.

While a select few masters dominated the stage in the past, since the 1990s a number of highly talented performers have emerged that help to demonstrate the continued importance of Peking Opera in Chinese culture. In recent years, the Peking Opera Theater of China has even started to experiment with incorporating western symphonic music in its productions. Peking Opera offers a vivid picture of Chinese culture and history and is a great way for visitors to get a taste of the country.