By Li Qing

Jiang Lis fondest childhood memory brims with images of The Legend of the White Snake. The classic TV series based on a Chinese folktale is in fact the same age as Jiang， having premiered in 1992.

The traditional tale tells the story of a female white snake spirit who dreams of transforming into a goddess by doing good deeds and ends up falling in love with a human. Nevertheless， demons and humans are not supposed to develop such relationships， so their connection from the start faces many a challenge.

Raised by her grandmother， a fan of the drama， in Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province， this 29-year-old accountant， has watched the series so many times that she can recall almost every single detail of every single episode.

Recently， Jiang watched a movie based on the very same storyline called White Snake， released on May 20. This time around， the all too familiar legend came to her from a new and fresh perspective. Aside from the multiple scenes starring traditional Chinese ink painting and stunning special effects， what stood out the most to this mega fan was the incorporation of Yueju Opera， more commonly known as Cantonese Opera， a popular local opera in south China with a history of about 500 years.

Cultural heritage

Originating in Guangdong Province， Yueju Opera combines elements of martial arts， acrobatics， singing and dancing， and was included on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List back in 2009. The adapted love legend is Chinas first traditional opera movie supported by 4K technology.

“I never thought Cantonese Opera could be so emotive. The music and opera singing are so elegant， quite different from my imagination. It makes the storyline with its pursuit of love， kindness and beauty even more touching，” Jiang， who was exposed to the genre for the first time， told Beijing Review. It sounds like a Chinese-style musical， she added.

Some opera fans have voiced their criticisms regarding the fact that the movie changed the traditional singing of the opera and integrated orchestral music to lower the threshold of appreciation and cater to the palates of younger generations. Yet the experiment seems to be doing pretty well on the market. It was rated 9.3 out of 10 on Maoyan， a movie ticketing and film data platform， while Fast& Furious 9， the latest installment of the action film franchise ruling the global industry， received a rather mediocre 7.5.

Jiang has recommended the movie to her friends， who were also amazed by the body of artwork. It is not surprising for our generation to have our interest in traditional operas piqued， she said， adding that all they need is a chance to actually grasp their deeper meanings.