It is rare to see a Peking Opera performer sing some lines in English. Yet a young womandressed in a Peking Opera costume and a tenor in a black suit, perform a nice duo of PekingOpera The Drunken Beauty and Western Opera Time to Say Goodbye.

This is a mini show to warm up the news conference, held at a small music hall in the CBD ofBeijing, on Sunday afternoon, for the upcoming awards gala for the winners of the 2016Young Peking Opera Performers Challenge. President of the Beijing Peking Opera CompanyLi Enjie, celebrated Peking Opera performer Tan Xiaozeng, and some 100 representativesattended the news press.

The contest was held in Beijing from June 5 to 18, with the participation of two groups ofpost-80s and 90s Peking Opera performers. Beyond expectation, the challenge attracted a lotof attention through social media and interaction with audiences on the internet.

As the main promoter of the contest, Lux Shine aims to promote traditional Chinese culture byadding more fashion and modern elements. Narrowing the distance between Peking Operaand the young generation is also their goal.

Established in 2015 by Ma Yingying, a former journalist and director for the Opera Channel ofChina Central Television (CCTV), Lux Shine is still very young yet robust in the field of culturalpromotion.

"When I started to work for the Opera Channel, I knew nothing about Peking Opera and felt alittle shamed for this unpopular job. But six years later, I fell in love with Peking Opera, and Iwish I could do something to let more people get to know its beauty," Ma said.

And "unpopular", or not as popular as its peak, is the bitter reality Peking Opera is facingnowadays. The young generations prefer more fashionable cultural entertainment, and PekingOpera looks too serious to enjoy to them.

Ma, however, has a great ambition to make Peking Opera look younger and more accessible.She and her team have made a series of creative Peking Opera shows, by combing theOpera with ballet, Western Opera and even rock and roll.

The award gala will be held in Beijing on August 21. The young performers will show in a moreposh Peking Opera style.

Reprinted from China Daily