A total of 20 opera highlights from North China's Shanxi province were recently included in the List of Excellent Traditional Chinese Opera Highlights for Rehearsal Plan released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

A total of 300 traditional Chinese opera highlights were selected nationwide, with 20 being from Shanxi, more than any other province in the country.

In recent years, the Culture and Tourism Department of Shanxi Province has attached great importance to the protection and development of local operas by strengthening the creation of high-quality works, organizing festival exhibitions, carrying out performances that benefit the people, and promoting talent cultivation. Since the start of 2023, the province has been working to allocate 22 million yuan ($3.03 million) annually to carry out public welfare performances of rare opera genres in Shanxi.

In August 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a rehearsal plan list, aiming to preserve the art of Chinese opera, explore and showcase unique Chinese opera skills, and cultivate leading talents in Chinese opera by organizing the rehearsal of a batch of traditional Chinese opera highlights.

The Culture and Tourism Department of Shanxi Province will prioritize the rehearsal plan and establish a special team and expert group to organize and guide the performing units to complete the rehearsal task to high standards.

Meanwhile, the department will guide grassroots opera troupes in the province to improve the protection mechanism of traditional Chinese opera, continuously polish and create high-quality opera performances, and promote the high-quality protection and development of opera art.