Fat lady sings for Chinese rural opera

When he dons his flowing robes and vivid makeup, Wu Yunhong is transformed from a labourer who toils on Chinese mountains under a beating sun into an evil general commanding an army of warriors. Wu was raised in the Jinyuan Opera Company, co-founded by his grandfather in 1984. Some Chinese opera styles such as Peking and Canton have been elevated to "national treasure" status by the government, winning millions in funding, but others are left to wither on the stage.

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