A century of joy and flow, bustling markets, and drama conveying emotions. This place has experienced four eras (Late Qing, Beiyang Government, Nationalist Government, People’s Republic of China), inheriting the dramatic culture of Bashu and leading the urban life of Chengdu, becoming a cultural landmark of artistic highland. Originally constructed in 1795 as a shared place for performers, it was known as the ‘Old Lang Temple’.
In 1908, Zhou Xiaohuai, the head of Sichuan’s Encouragement of Industry, collaborated with the Chengdu Chamber of Commerce, the Education Commission, and the Police Headquarters to establish the Opera Reform Association, with its headquarters located at the Old Lang Temple on Hua Xing Zheng Street. The same year, to promote the reform of Sichuan opera, initiated by Fan Kongzhou, the assistant manager of the Chengdu General Chamber of Commerce, it was agreed that ‘the garden site would be transferred to Yue Lai Company for the improvement of opera, and it would forever serve as a place for performers to make a living’, adopting the meaning of ‘attracting both near and far’. The Yue Lai Company pooled capital to build the first modern theater with modern facilities in Sichuan, on the original site of the ‘Old Lang Temple’, named ‘Yue Lai Tea Garden’. Amidst the turmoil of warlords and the instability of the nation, it was difficult for artists to pursue their careers. Influenced by the democratic and republican ideas of the 1911 Revolution, in order to strive for basic living conditions, initiated by famous Sichuan opera performers Kang Zilin, Yang Sulan, Xiao Kaicheng, Tang Guangti, and Tang Deyi, and gathering the essence of famous opera troupes such as Changle, Yanle, Binle, Cuihua, Guichun, Taihong, Shuyi, Caihua, and Yile, more than 180 people formed a self-managed Sichuan opera troupe ‘Sanqing Society’ at ‘Yue Lai Tea Garden’. After the establishment of the Sanqing Society, with a complete range of roles and a gathering of famous performers, it was a prosperous time. They advocated ‘five tones in harmony’ in vocal music; ‘three virtues’ in morality (speech virtue, character virtue, and drama virtue); established ‘Yanjing Society’ for theoretical research; founded ‘Shengping Hall’ for talent cultivation; and implemented ‘revenue sharing system’ in economy. In addition, the Sanqing Society also invited socially renowned individuals with profound cultural cultivation, such as Huang Ji’an, Yin Zhongxi, and Ran Qiaozi, to write plays. During the more than thirty years of residency at ‘Yue Lai Tea Garden’, they inherited classics, frequently performed new plays, and made several innovative attempts in opera performance art, music, and stage art, becoming a milestone of modern Sichuan opera, hence ‘Yue Lai Tea Garden’ earned the reputation of ‘Sichuan Opera Nest’. In 1949, with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the ancient Sichuan opera art ushered in a new spring. In 1954, the government rebuilt Yue Lai Tea Garden, taking Du Fu’s ‘Jinjiang spring scenery comes from heaven and earth’, and renamed it Jinjiang Theater. In 1959, Chengdu Sichuan Opera Troupe was established by the merger of part of the Chengdu Sichuan Opera Troupe, Sichuan Provincial Sichuan Opera Troupe Second Team, and Third Team at Jinjiang Theater. Entering the 1960s, to establish the theater brand, Chengdu Sichuan Opera Troupe concentrated the entire theater’s efforts to create many classic plays.In the long-standing and exquisite performances, numerous famous Sichuan Opera stars have emerged. Since the reform and opening up, the stage of Jinjiang Theater has gathered masters of various roles in Sichuan Opera, showcasing the unique charm of Kun, Gao, Hu, Tan, and Deng. A large number of excellent plays were born here, and many Sichuan Opera artists achieved their success. ‘Going to Jinjiang Theater to watch a play’ has become a customary cultural landscape for the people of Chengdu.
In 1997, the 8th meeting of the 8th Chengdu Municipal Committee decided to rebuild the historic Jinjiang Theater. In 2001, it was completed and renamed the ‘Sichuan Opera Art Center,’ becoming the first comprehensive cultural venue in China named after a drama type and primarily focused on opera performances. As one of the landmark projects of Chengdu’s spiritual civilization construction, the center includes Jinjiang Theater, Yuelai Tea Garden, and the Sichuan Opera Museum, forming an artistic and cultural pattern of ‘Old舍Tea House in the north and Yuelai Tea Garden in the south. ‘ The Chengdu Sichuan Opera Troupe has long insisted on performing large-scale tourist Sichuan operas here every day, uninterrupted performances of Yuelai Tea Garden Sichuan Opera’s small stage excerpts every Saturday, and frequent showcases of excellent Sichuan Opera plays and tours of other drama types, becoming a beautiful card and unique cultural landscape leading Chengdu’s cultural tourism consumption. In 2012, the Chengdu Sichuan Opera Troupe was renamed the Chengdu Sichuan Opera Research Institute, still using this place as the main performance venue. Sichuan Opera practitioners continue to carry forward the art on this stage. To support the development needs of Sichuan Opera in the new era and the prosperity of Chengdu’s culture and arts, the Chengdu Municipal Party Committee and government decided in 2020 to expand and renovate the center again. Chengdu Jinjiang Theater is a broad stage that embraces all rivers and blooms with a hundred flowers, where excellent plays are performed, disseminated, and preserved; generations of Sichuan Opera practitioners are cultivated, grown, and become famous here; batches of audiences appreciate and enjoy Sichuan Opera here; numerous domestic and international art masters take the stage here to display their charm. This ‘century-old shop’ has nurtured many winners of the Meihua Award and the Wenhua Award, and the spark of Sichuan Opera has spread from here to become a prairie fire, spreading the charm of Bashu drama art to all directions, even to Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Oceania, and other countries and regions. Today, this Sichuan Opera Art Center, which has a rich historical connotation and is very aesthetically pleasing to the times, stands tall on the long-standing and modern Huaxing Street. From ‘Lao Lang Temple’ to ‘Yuelai Tea Garden,’ from ‘Jinjiang Theater’ to ‘Sichuan Opera Art Center,’ for more than a hundred years, Sichuan Opera practitioners have been steadfast and unyielding on the foundation built by their artistic predecessors, passing down from generation to generation, allowing the edifice of Sichuan Opera art to shine on Huaxing Street. This ‘century-old shop’ rooted in Chengdu’s old city and witnessing the history of Sichuan Opera shows Chengdu’s deep historical accumulation and cultural charm, continuing the root memory of Tianfu culture as the historical and cultural city moves towards a world cultural city.With the essence of Sichuan Opera, it carries the culture of the Shu land spanning three thousand years and broadcasts the artistic style of the new era. For over a century, Sichuan Opera performers have been unique on the red stage, showcasing the changes of history and the myriad aspects of life, all converging here as the righteous energy of China and the true goodness and beauty of humanity. Open all year round from 10:00 to 22:00.
