Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing

A young girl has thick make-up applied to her face, just hours away from an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009.





15-year-old Ji Rou has thick make-up applied to her face, just hours away from an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009.

A young girl has thick make-up applied to her face, just hours away from an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009

15-year-old Ji Rou has thick make-up applied to her face, just hours away from an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009. Her school in north Beijing is one of 22 in China's capital designated as experiment sites for a government plan to spark youngsters' interest in Peking Opera through regular music classes which explain the stories behind the age-old operas, and try and garner interest in the clanging drums and high falsetto trills of Peking Opera among youngsters more interested in modern pop and rock music

A mother (L) speaks to her daughter as she prepares for an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009. Her school in north Beijing is one of 22 in China's capital designated as experiment sites for a government plan to spark youngsters' interest in Peking Opera through regular music classes which explain the stories behind the age-old operas, and try and garner interest in the clanging drums and high falsetto trills of Peking Opera among youngsters more interested in modern pop and rock music


Performers prepare for an end-of-year school performance of Peking Opera -- an ailing art form the Chinese government is seeking to revive in Beijing on May 25, 2009.