Jiangxia, Hometown of Peking Opera Master

In recent years, Wuhan's various districts have been striving to increase the level of opening-up by developing brands with distinctive features. To help our readers better understand this, more effectively tell Wuhan stories to the world, and celebrate the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with practical action, we are launching a series of bilingual reports related to "One District, One Brand." In this report, we take a look at Jiangxia District, the hometown of Tan Xinpei which is the originator of the Tan School Peking Opera.

What is your impression of Jiangxia District?

In terms of history, 15 Neolithic relics sites have so far been discovered in Jiangxia, and one of them, the Qiujialing site, dates back about 5,000 years. The Chinese surname Huang, with a history of more than 4,000 years, has its origin here.

Now, Jiangxia has over 20 higher education institutions that have laid a foundation for various industries. The internet industry represented by BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent), the automobile industry by SAIC-GM, the equipment manufacturing industry by CRRC, and the big health industry by the Central China Bio-industrial Base, all have branches in this district.

The first Chinese film, "Dingjun Mountain" (1905), is also related to Jiangxia. Tan Xinpei from Jiangxia, a milestone figure in the development of Peking Opera, played the lead role in the film.

Tan established Peking Opera's first sect in China -- the Tan School. Since then, all actors who play male roles revere him and follow his artistic principles. Tan's approach has been passed down from generation to generation, and several sub-schools of "laosheng" (dignified older male roles) are derived from it. In 2009, Tan Yuanshou, Tan Xinpei's great great grandson and also a famous Peking Opera artist, returned to Jiangxia with three generations of the Tan School actors, and Jiangxia District has since become the embodiment of Tan's signature style of the opera.

Today, you can feel the ubiquitous Tan School vibes in Jiangxia. The Tan Xinpei Park, covering nearly 500 acres, is filled with Peking Opera elements. A bridge named after Tan that connects the park and Wuhan Textile University is an attractive landmark on Tangxun Lake. The Tan Xinpei Theater Stage is currently the largest archaized palace-style theatrical stage in China. With red pillars, rising eaves, black tiles, and painted beams, it resembles the theater stages in ancient Beijing and is busy with performances. Not far away from the stage, Tan Xinpei Road runs through the district center from east to west.

 

Peking Opera activities such as the "Tan Xinpei Cup" Opera Talent Show, the "Jiangxia Cup" Peking Opera Fans Festival, and the Tan Xinpei Peking Opera Art Exhibition are regularly staged here. Peking Opera artists from all over the country come to present their performances and help revitalize the “Wuhan Opera Wharf”.

Nourished by the Peking Opera culture in Jiangxia, new artists are emerging. They have inherited the artistic tradition and will carry on the cultural charm and vitality of this land for generations to come.

The Jiangxia District government will make full use of the Tan Xinpei Theater Stage to explore the culture of Chinese traditional operas, polish the brand of the Tan School Peking Opera, and actively organize large-scale opera culture promotional activities. Through the "one district, one brand" foreign-oriented publicity activity, the district will further activate its cultural tourism resources and push forwards its "Famous Cultural District" strategy so as to enhance its cultural potential internally and international exchanges externally. "The source of ancient Wuhan and epitome of new Wuhan" will be a distinctive logo of Jiangxia culture.

(Source: Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhan Municipal People's Government)