Peking Opera, China's "national essence", national opera, has been 200 years old, enjoying high reputation both at home and abroad. It was form in Beijing. According to legend, in the region of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong was interested in local drama. In 1790, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Qianlong gathered together various local theaters performing for him, of which four troupes from Anhui province stayed in Beijing after the celebration. In 1828, a troupe of Hubei came to Beijing. Hereafter, these troupes often performed together, and the two groups gradually formed a new theatrical form, known as Peking Opera. It was popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Now it's the representative of the modern Chinese Han opera as well as a opera of world-class.
京剧，中国的“国粹”，国剧，至今已有200多年的历史，在国内外享有很高的声誉。它形成于北京。据传说，在清朝乾隆年间，乾隆对当地戏剧很感兴趣。1790年，为了庆祝他80岁生日，乾隆召集了各个当地剧院来给他表演，其中四个来自安徽的剧团庆典过后就留在了北京。1828年，一个湖北剧团来到北京。从这以后，这些剧团经常一起表演，后来两个剧团渐渐形成了一种新的戏剧形式，称作京剧。它在20世纪30年代到40年代很受欢迎。如今，它是当代中国汉剧和世界级戏剧的代表。
