The leading actress in the show Li Qingzhao. The North Kunqu Opera Theater and National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts staged the opera Li Qingzhao during the sixth Chinese Kunqu Opera Art Festival. Li Qingzhao depicts the late years of the title character as a talented poet under the depraved administration of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Photo from suzhou.gov.cn

A scene from Over the Wall (Qiangtou Mashang). The Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe performed the romantic comedy - originally written in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) by dramatist Bai Pu - during the sixth Chinese Kunqu Opera Art Festival. Photo from suzhou.gov.cn

A scene from experimental Kunqu opera Cuixiangmeng. Shanghai Theater Academy graduates Wei Li and Jiang Ke led the performance of Cuixiangmeng during the sixth Chinese Kunqu Opera Art Festival. The original drama was created by Xu Wei, a painter, poet, writer and dramatist from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is satirical about the hypocritical asceticism of monks. The new edition deploys traditional Chinese philosophy to further explore the same subject. Photo from suzhou.gov.cn