Peking Opera is also known as the national opera of China. Regarded as the most influential and representative of all operas in China, it has a history of more than 200 years.

However, it did not origin in Beijing but in the provinces of Anhui and Hubei. It appeared after the 4 most famous opera troupes paid their visit to Beijing. It adopted the best from each style and finally formed its own styles. During the Qing Dynasty, it became very prosperous and was regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.

It is a comprehensive art form and it combines music, singing, speaking, pantomime, acrobatics and martial arts. It is said that a student have to take more than 10 years of training before he becomes a qualified performer. Nowadays, the major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.