The day a die-hard fan looked down on Peking Opera

As a die-hard fan of Peking Opera, I was thrilled to get a chance to watch a show at a newly completed theater for folk opera in Beijing. Like most fans, I could only afford the cheapest ticket, which was still very expensive at 180 yuan ($25). My seat was in the second to last row on the third floor.

During the break, my friend told me he saw someone storming off, complaining loudly that it was "a suffering" to be there. I had heard similar comments about the theater. But I tried to calm my friend: Don't you see? We sit high up and observe the scenes below, like the Creator admiring his own work.

Before the show began, I took a few minutes to look around me. The first floor was so low that the audience looked like ducks straining to look up; the third floor was so high that everyone had to look down. Only the second floor allowed spectators a normal viewing angle. But the seats there were going for between 880 and 1,280 yuan.

Experience told me that with the cheapest ticket, you could head straight for the best seats, which are always reserved for the rich and powerful who, however, seldom have the time or interest to appreciate folk opera.

But I was disappointed this time. The architects seemed to be aware of shrewd patrons like me and had separated the floors. That night, a top actress was performing at her best, and both the first and third floors were packed. I spotted a number of vacant seats on the second floor. What a waste!

To my surprise, I found an entrance to the fourth floor. Inside, I discovered some seats hanging precariously along the wall, reminding me of the mysterious hanging coffins and the honeycomb-like congress hall in Star Wars.

If we were gods on the third floor, those on the fourth could well be the Jade Emperor looking down at the earthly world - though a pair of binoculars would have definitely come in handy.

It was a great show, and I enjoyed it despite my sore neck. Outside, I looked back and realized that the theater is actually part of an office building.

Possibly, when the real estate developer tried to add a few more square meters to his precious lot, he convinced the nearby folk opera troupe to give him a bit of space, on the condition of adding a theater to the complex.

That certainly serves both commercial and cultural purposes very well. And the architects have made good use of the space.

I've been to many folk opera theaters such as the Beiyang Theater in Jinan, Shandong province. It is such a nice centennial building with a rare, authentic feel.

Theaters, or li yuan - pear gardens, used to abound in Beijing. Even though many of them have survived the tides of real estate development, and a few have even been given a facelift, opera fans like me just cannot afford the rocketing ticket prices.

So, off people like me go to the parks to enjoy our amateur gatherings.

(China Daily 10/08/2008 page20)