Taking the chance of the on-going 28th World Heritage Conference held in Suzhou, the east China scenic city, classical plays of Kunqu opera have been staged continually during the period, provoking a fad among men and women, old and young.

"Due to the original state that Kunqu opera has maintained, it attracts more people and starts to melt into modern life," said Gao Fumin, secretary for Suzhou TV, radio and culture bureau.

"It took 200 years for Kunqu opera to take shape and 200 years to enjoy climax and another 200 years to fade. Now it is the last minute to rescue the legacy," Gao acknowledged, "The best and most ideal way is to cultivate more people especially youngsters to appreciate the art."

In recent years, the Suzhou Kunqu opera house has joined hands with Taiwan writer Bai Xianyong and worked out a modern version of the old Kunqu opera play Peony Pavilion, which turned out to be a great success in Taiwan.

The new version was also shown in Suzhou University and attracted as many as 2,000 college students from surrounding cities.

"Kunqu opera's growing popularity among young people proves the idea that tradition cannot live without modernity," Gao added.

Shen Xiwei, a 10-year-old girl said, "I like Kunqu Opera's lines, which are somehow like speaking and at the same time, like singing."

Moreover, Gao said, "Our goal is to make Suzhou as the base for the whole country to protect the opera."

In 2001, Kunqu opera was inscribed in UNESCO's list of "oral masterpiece and intangible heritage of humanity".
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2004)