[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Min Opera, also called Fuzhou Opera, is the only opera sung in the Fuzhou dialect. It reached its peak after the 1911 Revolution. It is popular in Fuzhou and central, eastern and northern Fujian, where the Fuzhou dialect is spoken. It is also popular in Taiwan and the Malay Archipelago. 

There are more than 1,000 Min Opera plays, most of which originated from folk tales, historical novels and ancient legends such as 'Making Seals', 'The Purple Jade Hairpin' and 'Switching Fairy Peach with Litchi'. 

Min Opera was the first of Fujian's Five Operas and is more than 400 years old. It is very important for studying the development of Fuzhou culture and theatre. Nowadays, because of the impact of the modern economy, Min Opera is in danger of dying out and therefore is in great need of salvation and protection.