Hui Opera

    To fully appreciate the Hui culture, one must watch Hui Opera, a popular entertainment in Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

    At the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, artists from Huizhou tried to incorporate two folk traditions – the Yiyang Tune and Xiqin Tune – into their performances. After years of evolution, around the middle of the Qing Dynasty, a new opera form was born. Hui Opera encompasses singing, recitative, gesticulating and acrobatics as its basic compositional forms. Early on, Hui Opera was popular only in the southern areas, but it soon became a vogue around the country as Hui merchants unveiled it to more and more audiences where they went.

    During Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, four Hui Opera troupes – Sanqing, Chuntai, Sixi and Hechun – were introduced into the capital and their successful performance in Beijing raised Hui Opera to its zenith and set the stage for the best internationally known Chinese opera form of all time. During Emperor Daoguang’s reign (1820-1850) of the Qing Dynasty, actors in Beijing further developed Hui Opera into what we know as Peking Opera, by combining it with the Han Opera of Hubei Province and other forms. The four Hui Opera troupes’ performing in Beijing is considered a prelude to the birth of Peking Opera. Hui Opera is similar to contemporary performances of Peking Opera in terms of artistic style. Although the development of Hui Opera has been all but abandoned today, its artistic form is conscientiously protected and kept vital with regular performances. Today, selections of classic Hui operas are often staged at the Huijing Theater in Hefei City of Anhui Province.

    If one wants to know the history of Hui Opera, the Xiangming Grand Theater in Huangshan City stages the singing and dancing extravaganza Hui Yun (The Charm of Huizhou). It displays the amazing scenery of Huangshan Mountain and tells the story of Hui merchants and the history of Hui Opera. English subtitles are provided for the convenience of foreign audiences.

    Hui Cuisine

    For visitors to Huangshan Mountain, trying Hui cuisine is a must, especially for its use of wild natural ingredients. As one of the eight culinary traditions of China, Hui cuisine appeared first in Shexian County and flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Braising, stewing and steaming are common techniques, while stir-frying and deep-frying are used much less frequently. The cuisine is modest with its use of oil, attentive to the color of the dish, and strict with cooking times.

    There are over 100 representative dishes of the Hui style, including Ham and Turtle Stew, Preserved Mandarin Fish and Fried Fermented Tofu. Huizhou is rich in mountainous and forested terrain, which provide an abundant variety of local ingredients. If traveling to Huangshan, seasonal vegetables are well worth a try, as are various wild products like bamboo shoots and the tender leaves of cliff ferns.

    Hui cuisine gained its popularity alongside the expanding influence of Hui merchants. The local Laba tofu had been the comfort food of choice for the traveling salesmen, for its long shelf life as much as for its taste.