Shows or entertainment in Hangzhou

　There are lots of resorts for entertainment and leisure in Hangzhou . Numerous classical and elegant tea houses, fashionable and top grade coffee bars, bars of western style, exciting and romantic entertainment cities, night clubs and disco halls, and fashionable golf, tennis, fitness, hot spring, foot message have provided numerous choices of entertainment and leisure in Hangzhou. Hangzhou is known as the Eastern Capital of leisure for its particular leisure atmosphere.
　Hangzhou has a surprising amount of good little bars and clubs for a city of this size. The most popular evening past time remains, however, the typical Chinese experience of walking around or across the West Lake with your beloved in the moonlight.
　The city's nightlife at the moment tends to center around the Paradise Rock bar which is right next to the Overseas Chinese Hotel on Hubin Lu. The drinks in this bar are cheap, the decor is decent, the food is tasty and the live music is usually excellent. Hangzhou is currently producing some of China 's best live musicians and any night out on the town here will encounter either a planned or impromptu "jamming session". It makes for a great atmosphere in the bars and clubs and there is a great relationship here between the sizeable foreign student population and the local kids. There are numerous other bars around town worth checking out including the Lake of Dreams on the southeast corner of the lake and the New L.A.

　For the traditional show and entertainment in Hangzhou , you could go to watch Shaoxing opera, and spend your time at the tea house, or stay at the storytelling house.

Shaoxing Operal

　By the year of 2006, it marks the 100th anniversary of Shaoxing Opera (Yueju Opera), the second biggest form of Chinese opera, placed only after Peking Opera . Having originated in Zhejiang Province ( Yue State in ancient times), the opera is most popular in Zhejiang and Shanghai but is also widespread in Jiangsu , Fujian and other provinces.

　The opera was derived from a kind of story singing. At first, it was performed with a small drum and hardwood clappers for rhythm and later, choral and orchestral accompaniment was added. It drew some musical elements from Shao Opera and subsequently formed its own characteristics. It also borrowed many themes from drama and the movies, which were both brand new art forms, and made itself the representative of the pioneer culture at that time.

　The opera began to be performed in Shanghai in 1917 and gradually gained popularity. In earlier days, men performers performed the plays exclusively. Since 1923, all-women groups began to appear and became popular. They gradually replaced all-men groups in the 1930s and 1940s, all the roles played by actresses (even male characters). After 1949, male and females work together.

　As a performing art, the opera is a fine marriage of abstraction and realism. The repertory is largely based on folklore, Chinese classical literature and history. There are also elements of day-to-day living about it.

　The opera is noted for its lyricism, and singing is dominant in it. Its tunes are sweet and beautiful and the performance vivid and full of local color. Its music is characterized as being fresh, graceful and lively. The well-known violin concerto " Butterfly Lovers " was composed based on elements from the opera. The scenery and props, costumes and creation of stage personae are very much in the tradition with Chinese painting. The visual appeal is obvious: tasteful, colorful and invites imagination. The genre can be described as a rare and fragrant bloom from the garden of Chinese operatic arts where hundreds of species grow and thrive.  

　Besides, Yue Opera is sung in local dialect and may not be understood by people from other parts of the country. And therefore it remains a local opera. But it is very popular in the countryside, especially during festivals such as Spring Festival. Open-air performances are commonplace with crowds gathering in a large square, sitting or standing, watching and listening to the actors and actress.

　After you read all of them, if you like to have one, please make contact with us and we will have a good arrangement for you. Our contact is (0086)10 84405388 by telephone, (0086)10 84405450 by fax, or travelservice@kirintravel.com by email.