China Guide
Jiangsu and Zhejiang
The Museum of Opera and Theatre
Opening time: Daily 8.30am–4.30pm
Price: ¥8
Address: Zhongzhangjia Xiang: 10min walk due east from Guanqian Jie
The rooms at the unusual and memorable Museum of Opera and Theatre are filled with costumes, masks, musical instruments, and even a full-sized model orchestra, complete with cups of tea, though the building itself is the star, a Ming-dynasty theatre made of latticed wood. The Suzhou area is the historical home of the 5000-year-old Kun Opera style, China's oldest operatic form – Beijing Opera has existed for a mere 3000 years. Kun is distinguished by storytelling and ballad singing, though it can be hard to follow as it is performed in the all-but-unintelligible (even if you speak Chinese) Suzhou dialect. The curators are gold mines of information on the art form as well as on the degradation that opera performers had to endure during the Cultural Revolution – but you'll need to speak Chinese to engage them in conversation.