Chengdu's entertainment scene is a mix of the traditional and contemporary, thanks in part to the stream of visitors who use the city as a stopover on the trail to Tibet.

The primary form of traditional entertainment in Chengdu is Sichuan Opera. The city is home to Sichuan's leading opera troupe, famous throughout the country. Sichuan Opera is a well-loved art form, distinct from Beijing Opera both in themes and language. Currently, the best places to see Sichuan opera are the Chengdu Theater on Minzhong Lu, the Jin Jiang Theater in the Sichuan Opera Art Center on Huaxingzheng Lu, and Shufeng Yayun in Wenhua Gongyuan. Those in search of local flavor may want to head out to Jiaozi Music Hall of Chengdu Art Center, which has a varied program of classical music and performing arts.

Chengdu's prosperity is transforming it as old neighborhoods give way to skyscrapers and shopping malls. That and the stream of travelers stopping off on the way to Tibet have created a lively bar scene, and there are usually a few open no matter what time it is. Most of Chengdu's larger bars are concentrated around Renmin Nan Lu (People's South Road) or West Yangshi Sreet.

Chengdu's teahouses are a joy. They have been a part of the city's life and culture for centuries, and there are hundreds scattered through the city providing a place where the elderly particularly enjoy passing the day and evening hours over a cup of jasmine tea and a game of cards or Chinese chess.

Like many cities in China, Chengdu celebrates its culture via its festivals. Many adhere to Chinese holidays with some geared towards attracting visitors to the city. Usually in January/February, the city is the venue for Huanglongxi Town Fire Dragon Festival. The festival stems from a tradition that dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty. Today, clashing cymbals, beating drums and resonating gongs accompany parading artisans and acrobats as they perform the dragon dance. In the same period, the city also celebrates the Chengdu Lantern Festival at Qingyanggong Park: every city marks the end of Spring Festival with a lantern festival, but Chengdu brings a special radiance to the event. As the city is beginning to get warm, many of its trees begin to display its aromatic blooms. In March, Longquan village becomes a sea of flowers when Oriental cherry, peach, plum, pear and apricot buds blossom: it's time for the China Chengdu Peach Blossom Festival. In Autumn, the city is the scene of the International Panda Festival, when visitors can learn more about these rare and appealing animals.

Sichuan Opera (Chuan Ju)
Sichuan Opera (or Chuan Ju) is one of China's oldest local operas, popular in Sichuan Province and some regions of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. During the early years of the Qing Dynasty, there were five different forms of local opera in the Sichuan area. In the course of its evolution, they were gradually merged into what is referred to as 'Sichuan Opera'. Among them, Gaoqiang (high tune) is the richest, with a distinctive Sichuan local color. It is accompanied only by percussion and chorus. It excludes the use of wind or string instruments. Sichuan Opera's wide repertoire has a strong literary quality, and is full of wit, humor and lively dialogue with a pronounced local flavor. It has also built its own system of stylized movements. It is characterized by the use of theatrical props such as three-eyed masks, multi-use masks that change quickly into different facial expressions, and other illusionist techniques.

 

The following are some famous Chuan Ju plots:

Husband-Wife Bridge (Fuqi Qiao)
A Sichuan village in the Qing Dynasty is held to ransom by a pair of extortionists who control the ferry over the flood-prone Min River. A local teacher, He Xiande, is determined to build a bamboo bridge over the river in the face of threats from the criminals and interference from corrupt officials. One stormy night the bridge is sabotaged and He Xiande is drowned. His widow refuses to publicly mourn, and instead starts work on the bridge again. She earns the respect of all the local people and with their help, the bridge is eventually completed.

Dajiao Furen (Madame Big Feet)
Madam Yang (known as "Madam Big Feet") was a powerful local official during the Southern Song Dynasty,  whose position was given to her by imperial mandate, on the condition that she and her family uphold the letter of the law. Unfortunately, Madame Yang’s son is a scoundrel who kills an old man from a nearby village. Wu Xianliang, a local hero, confronts him, and in the ensuing tussle the criminal son is accidentally killed. On hearing of her son's death, Madame Yang decrees that his body should be left in the street for three days to show her displeasure, thus proving her true character in setting the law above her maternal feelings. At the end of the Opera, Madame Yang adopts the hero Wu Xianliang, and together they leave their town to join Imperial forces and protect their country.

Profile of Tao Furu (Funu Zhuan)
Tao Furu, a talented woman living in Hangzhou in the early part of the Qing Dynasty, is betrothed to Xi Xianchun, a scholar from Suzhou. They arrange to meet by West Lake, but unbeknownst to Tao, Xi's mother is taken ill and, being a dutiful son, he rushes to be with her. Instead of finding her fiancé at the lake, Tao has a fateful encounter with Su Ran, a local official. Su is entranced with Tao and tries to make her his concubine. When this fails, Su avenges himself by arresting Tao's father on false charges and throwing Tao into a brothel. A blind storyteller named Lia Lian hears of this and starts telling the tale to alert Hangzhou to Tao's plight. A local hero named Chen Gangchu becomes so incensed by the injustice that he kills Su Ran, rescues Tao, frees her father and reunites the lovers.

Romantic Confusion (Qiao Taishou Luan Dian Yuanyang Pu)
This complicated love story set in the Northern Song Dynastyinvolves arranged betrothals, true love, mismatched keepsakes, an upright official and a happy ending.

Unfaithful Scholar (Du Shiniang)
A tragic love story set in the Ming Dynasty.  Du Shiniang, the daughter of a disgraced official who has died in jail, is forced into prostitution. Li Jia, a scholar, meets her at the brothel, falls in love her, and with some difficulty buys her freedom. But as the two lovers journey to Li's home, Li falls in with a rich merchant who persuades him that he shouldn't make a life with a woman of Du Shiniang's background, and Li Jia agrees to sell Du to the merchant. When Du gets wind of the plan she is overwhelmed with anger and sorrow. She reveals the precious jewelry and money that would have been her dowry, hurls it into the river and then drowns herself, depriving Li of the happiness and riches that might have been his.

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