CRI听力:Peking Opera Summer Camp

Six-year-old Wu Leixin introduces herself onstage to other campers while holding a small two-string fiddle. The instrument called "huqin" is the primary accompaniment for Peking opera.

"I've been learning this for two years. I love Peking Opera. It feels great."

Ten-year-old Yuan Jiayi explains some of the reasons why she's fond of Peking opera.

"It's fresh to me. It's eye-catching. The acting and makeup are beautiful. The music and vocals are appealing too."

More than 100 children ages 5 to 13 from all over the country are attending this month-long Peking opera camp in Beijing. They have completed several rounds of auditions and stood out from hundreds of competitors to win the opportunity to attend the camp.

In August, the children will receive elaborate training from Peking opera artists, some of whom are mainstays of China's Peking opera scene. The children will take part in a live performance at the end of August.

Nine-year-old Zhang Jiyuan is from north China's Hebei Province. He has been learning to perform Peking opera for five years.

"The singing patterns and rhyme schemes are difficult to grasp. It's like a maze that makes you feel like spinning around."

To learn the dazzling singing patterns, the boy says he often hums them unconsciously from time to time, putting an unusual spin on his pop-song singing.

Zhang says he has learned more here about Peking opera, besides the art form's charm and wisdom.

"Here I have learned the difficulty of being a Peking opera performer. When I'm fully made up with the hairstyle and the helmet, they feel so tight that I nearly faint. And then I have to put on many layers of clothing. They feel so hot during the summer. Then I step onto the stage. Oh, my God, it's even hotter with all the lights shining on me."

Eleven-year-old Zhang Kewei plays the most colorful character in the Peking opera "Drunken Beauty." She says she likes Peking opera music better than pop songs.

"The characters are portrayed with lifelike efforts by many Peking opera artists. The language, movements and plots are so classical and beautiful. As a member of the young generation, I feel obliged to learn the legacy of Peking opera and to pass it down."

Camp organizers say many of the children got their first taste of Peking Opera from their grandparents, who hum the arias constantly. And their parents are increasingly open to support their desire to learn Peking opera.

Liu Yuchen, vice president of the Peking Opera troupe, says the Peking Opera summer camp is a meaningful effort to spread the traditional art form.

"By participating in this activity, some children may enter the Peking Opera circle, and become real stars. Nevertheless, everyone that participates, whether they go on to be stars or not, will experience Peking Opera and traditional culture up-close and in detail. Such an experience is beneficial during a child's early stages of growth."

Everyone, it seems, wants to ensure that this traditional art form can continue to thrive in modern-day China.

For CRI, this is Xiangwei.