Chinese opera troupe performs in Kathmandu

Kathmandu, Feb. 10

On the Chinese New Year 2026, Chinese artists from Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe performed in Kathmandu on Monday evening.

A team of artists from the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Centre showed opera and drama based on Chinese culture and Buddhist philosophy.

 Organised by the Centre and Nepal Overseas Chinese Association with the support from the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, the opera featured six performances.

Through the combination of the actors' physical movements, tumbling skills, and actions that aligned with the plot, the artists demonstrated their exceptional agility and superb artistic skills.

The performance on 'The goddess of heaven scatters flowers', which was adapted from ancient Chinese mythology and legend, showcased beautiful and skillful dance and operatic movements.

One of the attractions of the evening was traditional martial arts drama that featured clean-cut action moves and beautiful dance steps, mesmerising the audience. Without any dialogue or singing and with just one chair and one table on the stage, the two artistes relied entirely on real martial arts performance.

The other two performances included Hui Hu Solo and Suona Solo. According to the organisers, Hui Hu is one of the main instruments used in traditional Hui opera which is different from Jin Ju of Peking Operas. "Its rhythm can either be rapid or slow. Hui Tune mixes plenty of beautiful melodies in Hui Opera with its classical rhythm from which the audience can feel its plainness and pomposity," read a note from the organisers.

Likewise, the Suona Solo is a uniquely distinctive Chinese folk wind instrument, producing sounds that are warm, exuberant, melodious and stirring, often employed in jubilant and joyous occasions.

However, the longest performance of the evening was a drama on 'Three triumphs over the Skeletal Demon'.

According to the story, the Skeletal demon of the Mount Wanzi coveted the flesh of the Tripitaka (a Tang monk). She created three humanoid puppets in an attempt to lure Tripitaka. All three tries were thwarted by Sun Wukong (Monkey King) as he saw through the disguise. Ignoring Tripitaka's pleas, Wukong beat all the puppets to death. The skeletal demon morphed into smoke to escape the ordeal.

The hour-long drama included story, musical tunes and opera moves.

Speaking on the occasion, former Foreign Minister of Nepal Sujata Koirala praised the long cordial relations between Nepal and China and said that there should be more cultural and people to people exchanges in order to further strengthen the ties.

Charge d'Affaires at the Embassy of China in Kathmandu Zhou Pan highlighted the age-old trans-Himalayan relations. According to him, culture can be an instrument for deepening people to people relations between Nepal and China.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 February 2026.