Due to different regional variations, there are and have been many different forms of theaters in China. Each of these forms is serving a specific locality. One primary form of the southern Chinese theater is Cantonese Opera, which can be found in the provinces of Guangzhou, Guangxi, Macau, and, last but not least, in Hong Kong. As quite a number of this Cantonese speaking Chinese communities has spread as well in America, Canada, South East Asia, and as well in Europe, they took part of this culture with them and, in doing so, brought Cantonese Opera as well to this parts of the world.

I lived for four years in Hong Kong, and to get a better understanding of Chinese Culture and looking for a way to find and build a network, I got interested in the colorful and historical vibrant art of Cantonese Opera at an early time of my posting. The vibrant colors used in Cantonese Opera stage, the mystery of the meaning of the painted faces and the open mind of the artists gave me a lot of opportunities to enhance my knowledge about this art as well how to deal with low light situations and fast-changing lighting conditions from a photographic point of view.

I could explore some older and traditional art – Kun Qu Opera – as a starting point and later on more contemporary Cantonese Opera stories. As I found out, there is quite a considerable readiness in modern Cantonese Opera to adopt new elements. The artists involved in Cantonese Opera don’t hesitate too much to introduce new features in their repertoire – especially make-up techniques, costume design, and different forms of performance formats.

To promote Cantonese opera, the Hong Kong government introduced in 2009 opera performances under the title: “Let’s Enjoy Cantonese Opera in Bamboo Theatre” by the Audience Building Office in collaboration with different institutions and organizations. Part of this new scheme has been the offering of free pieces of Cantonese opera stories specially designed for children at old traditional bamboo theatres in different districts.

It was an opportunity in particular for children to set foot on the bamboo theatres to get to know about this unique kind of temporary structure while at the same time appreciating the art of Cantonese opera. In this way, they try to enable the traditional Chinese culture and arts to attract younger audiences and to pass the heritage along with the generations. If you visit the Heritage Museum of Hong Kong, you can find some displays of Bamboo Theatres and Cantonese Opera. This art is not a thing gone by. The UNESCO recognized Chinese operas in 2009 as an intangible cultural heritage.

The tradition of bamboo theatres and temple fairs with Cantonese Opera has been and still is a living history and not only found in the museum. Bamboo theatres have been alive, and I might say as well kind of popular, especially in the New Territories at specific local festivals. There is a tradition of a Temple Fair in Sai Kung to celebrate the birthday of Tin Hau just as one example, and it is getting more widespread. I had the chance to see some Cantonese Opera stories being performed at a traditional Bamboo theatre in Ap Lei Chau some years ago.