Peking Opera - 京剧, Jīngjù (Slide-show)

[long_way]

"Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified Chinese: 京剧; traditional Chinese: 京劇; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju (國劇; pinyin: Guójù). It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan." Wikipedia

for more information please go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_opera

Although Peking Opera is not my cup of tea I find the costumes and the makeup very interesting.

In this slide show you can see some of the typical Peking Opera "mask" designs:

http://w268.photobucket.com/pbwidget.sw ... 7c01c6.pbw

if this link doesn't work you can find the same slide show here:

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12 ... 7c01c6.pbw

then click on "Full Size".