Beijing Opera

The Asian continent keeps surprising us at the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa. Today we are discovering you more about the famous Beijing Opera.

Beijing Opera is considered to be the quintessence of China. In contrast with western opera, it mixes singing, dancing, music and acrobatics.

Its origins date back to the 19th century. It became popular during the Qing Dynasty. It was taken for the first time to Beijing in 1790, for Qianlong Emperor´s birthday.

Local operas were the best way of entertainment for Chinese people. They focused on popular legends and stories people liked. Beijing Opera was established in 1845, after putting together the best of each local opera.

Beijing Opera is a scenic art integrating singing, recitation, performing, dancing and martial arts. Legends, dynasties stories, myths and love and war tales, are the main themes used in this spectacular performance.

At all operas we will find four types of characters: Sheng, it’s a common name of male characters, Dan, the name for female characters, Jing, painted face often refers to male characters, and Chou, the comical one who can be played by both genders.

The facial panting or Lianpu brings back the masks used for the dances during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Each colour represents a different characteristic: a red face symbolizes loyalty, a black one, frankness, white stands for astuteness, while the faces painted with gold and silver colours symbolize gods and Buddha.

The suits are another important part of Beijing Opera. The clothes are never washed, they could discolour or wrinkle, and they are kept folded inside-out, in order to keep its colour and brightness.

At the 5 stars hotel Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we are Asian culture lovers. Enjoy luxury holidays with us at our Asian spot in the Mediterranean.