Day 12 (continued)

The ride back to Beijing was about two hours, during which everyone slept. From the Beijing-Toronto Hotel, I again journeyed to the Beijing Hotel for a coke in the lobby - a definite gather place for tourists from all over. There I met two Stanford B-School grads who were traveling for the summer and had just arrived in Beijing. We talked for a bit and they pointed out a nearby Opera Hall on the map. So my evening plans were set. I walked up Wangfiying (?) street and easily found the theater in a little alley to the right. I bought my ticket and began the search for dinner, eventually finding a long row of food stalls. Everything was only 20 fen and very good -- I had egg rolls, skewered meat (hopefully port and not cat) and a few other things as well. This was a definite find.

The opera was something else. There were three acts (three separate stories) with an intermission after the second. The first had three male characters who, I think, were fighting over a woman. The second was three women, one requiring forgiveness from another, with the third acting as an intermediary. The third act was the best with incredible costumes and acrobatics (and of course I ran out of film). This one seemed to be about two warring armies and about twenty to thirty actors were involved.

Peking opera is really different. The music is loud banging on traditional instruments (discovery of my earplugs from the bar exam was really welcomed) with only a few semi-melodic passages played on stringed instruments. What little actual singing there is is a high-pitched whine. Mostly though the actors talk or simply mime. Much of it is really acrobatics and sword fights. The costumes and makeup are stunning and a lot of posing goes on. It was definitely an event I'm glad I saw.

After the show I attempted to walk home but when I arrived at the Overseas Chinese Hotel rather than the Beijing Overseas Chinese Hotel, I realized that the hotel was just too far and so I grabbed a cab home.

written by

shoshtrvls on August 12, 1987 from Beijing, China

from the travel blog: Around the World (1987)

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