Stepping into Huguang Huiguan, or Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing, people who come to watch a resident musical may find the venue a heart of tradition and innovation. It comes alive with Jinfeng Yulu, or Till We Meet Again, a musical that blends well the timeless artistry of Peking Opera with the emotive power of music.

Opened at the hall on Dec 23, it will run as a resident show in 2025.Set against the historical backdrop of the 1910s to 1949, it tells the story of Chunmingshe, a Peking Opera troupe stationed at the guild hall that unexpectedly becomes embroiled in a murder mystery. The troupe's owner-master, Lai Xifu, is arrested as the prime suspect.

As the troupe faces operational difficulties and struggles for survival, the leading Peking Opera actor, Jin Sheng, who specializes in wusheng (martial arts male roles), takes on the responsibility of rescuing his master and revitalizing the troupe. Amid choices of family, love, friendship and national duty, he fights his way out of the crisis.

"At the core of this show is Peking Opera because the performance is staged at this special venue," says director Li Zhuoqun, referring to the guild hall, a complex of buildings over 200 years old, that is tucked away in a hutong area in downtown Beijing. "However, this is no ordinary Peking Opera."

Infused with a contemporary twist, the show integrates modern musical elements, such as electronic beats and jazz, bringing a fresh energy to the performance and appealing to both traditionalists and the younger generation in the audience.

Guild halls, huiguan in Chinese, which first appeared in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and reached their peak in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), referred to gathering places for people either from the same hometowns, or with shared interests, meeting venues for merchants, scholars or regional associations. There were more than 500 guild halls in the capital.

Huguang refers to present-day Hubei and Hunan provinces during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Huguang Guild Hall dates back to 1807 and was built by Liu Quanzhi, a scholar from Changsha in Hunan, and Li Junjian, a government official from Huanggang in Hubei. It originally functioned as a cultural, business and social center, serving the increasing number of people from the two provinces living in the capital.

With its courtyards and halls filled with ancient wooden beams and intricate carvings, the guild hall is most famous for its center stage, where Peking Opera masters such as Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), Tan Xinpei (1847-1917) and Yu Shuyan (1890-1943) once performed. The space, rich in history, provides an intimate atmosphere where the audience can almost feel the pulse of centuries past reverberating through its walls, creating a deep connection to the cultural heritage being performed.

Xu Xiaohui, general manager of the Tianqiao Zenith Group, a Beijing-headquartered company in charge of the upkeep of the guild hall, says the complex has undergone several renovations. In 1984, it was placed on the cultural heritage protection list by the Beijing municipal government, which has been working to revive such old buildings and promote their reuse since 2021.

As the musical opens, the performers, wearing vibrant Peking Opera costumes and intricate makeup, deliver the opera's good blend of stylized movement, powerful vocals and dramatic storytelling.

The air is thick with the passion of the performance as the singers' high-pitched, operatic vocals blend with the rhythmic beats of traditional percussion instruments, creating a captivating auditory landscape.

"From the moment the music starts, the atmosphere is electric," says Li, noting that the goal of staging the musical is to attract more young audiences to the old guild hall, allowing them to experience the intersection of old and new.

"The audience is invited not only to witness a performance but to be part of a larger cultural dialogue."

The historical guild hall, with its intimate and acoustically rich environment, offers a sense of closeness to the performers that larger venues cannot match.

"As the show progresses, the audience immerses itself in the fusion of sound, movement and emotion, becoming part of the show," she adds.

Li, who is the scriptwriter, lyricist and director of the production, has a large fan base, especially among the younger generation, thanks to her contemporary approach to telling stories in productions of traditional Chinese operas. Born into a family that worked in local folk opera in 1985, Li joined the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing after graduating from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts in 2011.

Peking Opera, known as jingju in Chinese, has a history of more than 200 years and is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting and martial arts. The art form was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

"It was the first time I directed a musical, and we selected performers from top Chinese art schools, such as the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Beijing Dance Academy," Li says, adding that there are also professional traditional Chinese opera artists in the cast.

Since the complex is an ancient wooden structure, protection is key, according to Li, who adds that they made efforts to preserve its historical charm while incorporating technology and interactive elements.

Before the performers started rehearsals at the guild hall, they learned about the historical and cultural significance of guild halls in Beijing. "We spent hours reading the script at the Huguang Huiguan, which allowed us to experience the unique atmosphere of this complex," says actor Li Chenyuan, 23, who plays the lead role of Jin in this musical.

He will graduate from the Beijing Dance Academy with a major in musical performance this summer. He stood out among his peers during auditions and received rigorous training in traditional Chinese opera, from singing and martial arts to reciting lines.

"I've performed in some musical productions, but Peking Opera is new to me. I started by imitating Peking Opera masters' performances by watching videos, and the more I learned, the more I admired those masters," says Li Chenyuan.

A Peking Opera piece that he performs in the musical is Lin Chong Ye Ben or Lin Chong Flees by Night, one of the best-known Peking Opera pieces for wusheng actors.

"It's such a deep art form that takes years to learn," he adds.

For actor Hu You, 36, the challenge is learning the techniques of singing and dancing in musicals. He graduated from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts in 2012 and joined the Beijing Quju Opera Troupe that year. Hu plays the role of Yu Tao, an ambitious young man from a noble family who returns to his hometown of Beijing after studying abroad. Yu is also a fan of Peking Opera and becomes a friend of Jin.

"I performed at the Huguang Huiguan when the Beijing Quju Opera Troupe staged Lao She's Teahouse last year and this year. It's quite a different experience when I performed in this musical, which is a new art form for me," Hu says.

Quju, a traditional opera, is believed to be the only local opera in Beijing that combines singing in the local Beijing dialect, also with dancing and martial arts.

Unlike Li Chenyuan, who was challenged by performing traditional Chinese opera, Hu faced difficulty with singing and dancing when he received training for musical performance.

"I've worked with the director, and I was intrigued by the idea of performing in a musical," Hu says. "Tradition does not need to be static. It can evolve and breathe new life when given the space to do so."

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