Local Time in Huangmei, China

Local Vibe

Huangmei Opera or Huangmei tone is a form of Chinese opera originating from the Huangmeishan mountain in Huaining County, Anhui province, as a form of rural folk song and dance. It is also referred to as Anhui Opera. It has been in existence for the last 200 years and possibly longer. Huangmei opera is one of the most famous and mainstream opera in China, and is a class of the typical Anhui opera. The original Huangmei opera was sung by women in Anqing areas when they were picking tea, and the opera was called the Picking Tea Song. In the late Qing dynasty, the songs were popular in Anhui Huaining County adjacent regions, combined with the local folk art, Anqing dialect with singing and chants, and gradually developed into a newborn's operas. The music is performed with a pitch that hits high and stays high for the duration of the song. It is unique in the sense that it does not sound like the typical rhythmic Chinese opera. In the 1960s Hong Kong counted the style as much as an opera as it was a music genre. Today it is more of a traditional performance art with efforts of revival in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and mostly sung in Mandarin. In 2006, Huangmei Opera was selected for the first batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage.