According to Zhejiang Shaoxing Opera Art Research Institute on October 12, the celebrated Shaoxing Opera monkey play Sun WukongThriceBeats the White Bone Demonhas recently kicked off its national tour. The show will visit 11 cities across China in sequence, inviting audiences to revisit the timeless story of Journey to the West.

Shaoxing Opera is famed for its monkey plays. With loud, powerful and impassioned vocal tunes, it is inscribed on the Representative List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China.

photo courtesy of Zhejiang Shaoxing Opera Art Research Institute

It is learned that this tour covers 11 stops including Beijing, Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province and Hefei of Anhui Province. The premiere took place on the evening of the 10th at the 2026 Kunshan Festival of Chinese Operas. The final performance will be staged in Shaoxing, the birthplace of Shaoxing Opera. Nine stops of the tour are included in the 2026 Communication and Promotion Grant Program of the National Art Fund.

Upholding fundamentals while pursuing innovation, the art form thrives with enduring charm. Today, Shaoxing Opera Sun WukongThriceBeats the White Bone Demoninherits the artistic essence of veteran artists. Meanwhile, it makes full use of stage design, lighting atmosphere and musical language to organically integrate the technical prowess and aesthetic appeal of monkey plays, better matching the viewing rhythm of modern audiences.

A relevant official from Zhejiang Shaoxing Opera Art Research Institute stated that passed down through generations of performers, Shaoxing Opera Sun WukongThriceBeats the White Bone Demonhas been staged across the length and breadth of China and gone overseas on many occasions, emerging as a timeless literary and artistic classic. Moving forward, the Institute will continue to safeguard this classic with craftsmanship, enabling Shaoxing Opera monkey plays to shine brightly in the new era.