Making Tradition Visible Reimagining the Safeguarding of traditional Chinese opera through New Dragon Gate Inn (2023)

Presentation abstract

Abstract

Traditional Chinese opera (Xiqu) is one of China’s most significant forms of intangible cultural heritage. Despite its highly codified performance traditions, inherited repertoires, and aesthetic values, many Xiqu genres are experiencing declining and ageing audiences and struggling to attract younger generations. This raises an important question: if traditional performing arts become increasingly disconnected from contemporary audiences, how can their skills, knowledge, and performance traditions continue to be transmitted?

Against the backdrop of changing audience structures, shifting entertainment consumption, and the rapid expansion of digital media, increasing numbers of theatre practitioners in China have begun experimenting with new ways of presenting Xiqu. Among these, New Dragon Gate Inn (新龙门客栈, 2023), promoted by its producers as an immersive Yueju (越剧) production, has generated perhaps the greatest commercial and cultural impact. Developed through collaboration between the Xiaobaihua Yueju Opera Troupe and the commercial musical theatre company Focustage, the production attracted approximately 9.25 million views in a single TikTok livestream, while around 80% of its audience had no prior exposure to Yueju.

Using New Dragon Gate Inn as a case study, this research examines how traditional Yueju practices are reorganised within a new theatrical framework. Combining dramaturgical and performance analysis, it explores how Yueju vocal traditions, role-type conventions, stylised movement, and performer-spectator relationships are integrated with immersive staging, direct audience interaction, and audience-oriented dramaturgical strategies associated with contemporary commercial musical theatre.

Rather than asking whether the production remains authentic Yueju, this research asks how adaptation can contribute to safeguarding traditional performance heritage. It argues that the production retains the visibility and recognisability of Yueju traditions while assigning them new dramaturgical functions within a more audience-oriented structure. Rather than preserving complete traditional forms unchanged, the research suggests that the continued visibility, circulation, and meaningful use of traditional performance practices may itself constitute an important mode of heritage safeguarding, contributing to wider discussions on the future sustainability of intangible performing arts heritage.