— Premier School’s Peking Opera Entering Campus Program Held as Scheduled
The Peking Opera Entering Campus Program at Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School welcomed yet another year of this meaningful tradition. This time, our school again invited Mr. Zhang Haoyang, a First-Class Actor of the National Peking Opera Company, and the third-generation inheritor of the modern Peking opera “Red Lantern Ji”, to enter the campus and provide professional training for both teachers and students. Through the commitment of “Everlasting Peking Opera” the beauty of Chinese traditional culture continues to be passed down generation after generation within the Premier School community.
Mr. Zhang Haoyang is a well-known Peking opera performer and an apprentice of Mr. Qian Haoliang. He also serves as an artistic instructor for CCTV’s opera program “Liyuan Breakthrough: My Promotion”. In class, he demonstrated essential Peking opera body movements and key facial expressions, explained vocal training, breath control, and pronunciation techniques, and guided students to learn and sing a selected segment from “Taking the Tiger Mountain by Strategy”—“ Gladly shed one's blood to write a new chapter in history.” Through powerful and resonant singing, the children experienced the heroic spirit of revolutionary figures and the unique charm of Peking opera artistry.
Beyond expert training, Peking opera-themed teaching was also integrated into our Music and Art classes. In Music, students learned foundational knowledge such as Peking opera roles and basic rhythmic structure. In Art, students brought their creativity to the table by drawing Peking opera face masks and the traditional Chinese handheld "rattle drum"—using colors to understand the cultural meanings behind the face-painting tradition.
As one of the school’s traditional signature programs, Peking Opera Entering Campus has become an important window for HKP students to experience and connect with traditional culture. Over the years, by combining instruction from renowned artists with cross-disciplinary learning experiences, the school brings Peking opera into daily campus life. In the process of singing, drawing, and performing, students plant the seeds of inheriting this national treasure of culture, while strengthening their confidence in Chinese culture.
