Dressed in a red-and-white warrior costume, Peking opera actress Zhang Wanting balances on one foot on the narrow arm of a rosewood chair. She bends forward, lifts her other leg high and grasps the two long pheasant feathers on her helmet to strike a pose like a flying swallow.<\/p>\n
Cheers and applause rise from more than 100 spectators in a modern Beijing theatre.<\/p>\n
It is a Sunday afternoon in early September, and Zhang is leading The Masked Heroine<\/em>, a play from the Song School of Peking opera, founded in the early 20th century as part of the centuries-old art form. It is the 30-year-old actress\u2019 first time starring in the role in a full production, but also the fruit of over a decade of hard work that started when she was a child.<\/p>\n \u201cEver since I first started learning this play, I\u2019ve dreamed of performing it in full,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Growing up in Hebei province in northern China, Zhang first encountered Peking opera when she was seven and saw children practising at a cultural centre. Fascinated, she joined them \u2013 and realised she had the talent and determination to pursue the art professionally. After primary school, Zhang left home for a theatre school in East China\u2019s Jiangsu province.<\/p>\n Most performers in Peking opera start training at a very young age to build physical strength and flexibility. The repetitive practice leaves participants soaked with \u201csweat and tears\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/01\/02\/c09c0549-41f1-428e-967e-74f044b4a0bf_820418b0.jpg\" "\\"A")
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