Defined by its distinct performance style, stage practices, and regional and dialect based identities, Cantonese opera originated as a traditional art form performed by itinerant companies in temple courtyards and rural market fairs. In the early 1900s, however, Cantonese opera began to capture mass audiences in the commercial theaters of Hong Kong and Guangzhou--a transformation that changed it forever. Wing Chung Ng charts Cantonese opera's confrontations with state power, nationalist discourses, and its challenge to the ascendancy of Peking opera as the country's preeminent "national theatre." Mining vivid oral histories and heretofore untapped archival sources, Ng relates how Cantonese opera evolved from a fundamentally rural tradition into urbanized entertainment distinguished by a reliance on capitalization and celebrity performers. He also expands his analysis to the transnational level, showing how waves of Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia and North America further re-shaped Cantonese opera into a vibrant part of the ethnic Chinese social life and cultural landscape in the many corners of a sprawling diaspora.

This book examines Cantonese opera, one of the grandest of the traditional musical theatres in China.

Cultural tourism is an experiential tourism based on searching for and participating in new and deep cultural experiences. This book enhances the tourism literature by testing the tourist attitude toward related issues of Cantonese Opera as a cultural product of the Greater Bay Area. This book starts with a general introduction to the background of Cantonese Opera. Chapter 2 is a historical review of Cantonese Opera development in the GBA. Chapter 3 introduces the concept of the Cantonese Opera as a cultural product. Chapter 4 discusses the related Cantonese Opera on tourism development in the GBA. Chapter 5 describes the trends of modernisation and integration of Cantonese Opera in the GBA. Lastly, Chapter 6 is a case study in Macau. This book focuses on Cantonese Opera and cultural tourism. This means tourism practitioners and arts administrators should be the primary source of market and while people in the rest of the world who are interested in Cantonese Opera and cultural tourism should find this book useful. This book is a valuable resource not only for social science researchers, but also for those in related fields, for example, arts administrators and tourism officers, among many others. This book could serve as a text for an advanced level undergraduate course for students in many of the arts administration and tourism fields. Additionally, this book is a valuable resource for teaching graduate students not only in tourism, but also in related fields. Furthermore, government or practitioners can improve the management of city and tourism service using this book.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture: Three Treasures of Lingnan Series is a set of brief and illustrated introductions to three traditional art forms -- Guangdong opera, Lingnan school of painting and Guangdong music -- in south China. We hope these three riveting books, including Love on the Stage, Beauty of Colors and Cadence of Strings, can attract more overseas readers who love Chinese and Lingnan culture to explore further their artistic and unique charm and history. Beauty of Colors: A Little History of Lingnan School of Painting tells the history, development and influence of the Lingnan School of painting. It also introduces masters of the school including Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Chen Shuren and so on. The status of Lingnan Painting in China can also be found in this book. Since the beginning of reform and opening up in 1978 and with the rise of China's economy, Chinese culture has become more and more influential in the world. As an important part of Chinese culture, Lingnan culture plays a key role and it manifests itself most notably in art, Cantonese opera, architecture and food. More and more young people of the overseas Chinese need to know the root and development of culture of their parents and ancestors. Moreover, foreigners who are interested in Chinese culture and history also want to learn this remarkable and robust culture.