The offline performance has revived in Beijing with the COVID restrictions lifted.

Hard to Find Jing, an experimental theatrical production in Beijing, portrays Beijing Opera apprentices. The play, fusing pop music into traditional Beijing Opera, is a box office hit, while theaters have again become a popular choice for people to spend their weekend.

"Beijing Opera has been regarded as a cultural treasure of China. I have always wanted to produce a piece that reflects the life and inner world of Beijing Opera performers in the current social context. But we need to meet the preferences of today's audiences and innovate our way of performance," said Li Xinyi, director of Hard to Find Jing.

To better reflect the struggles and dilemmas of the characters in the play, the performers are all real-life opera artists rather than professional drama actors.

"In this play, we have to manage stage acting skills and also sing with a real band. I hope this can help the audience and ourselves understand that we opera performers can too innovate and explore new possibilities," said Liu Zhen, producer and actor of Hard to Find Jing.

After their first show on Friday, tickets for all the three days of shows have sold out.

"I major in theater directing, so I'm glad to watch performances like this. Plus, this play is a fusion of many art forms, and that's something I would like to try in the future myself," said one audience member.

"I haven't been to theaters for a long time. I am very much looking forward to this play," said another audience member.

The offline shows were among the hardest hit by the pandemic in the past few years.

"I had only one performance in 2022," said Liu.

Now with social restrictions lifted, so are the hearts of many in this industry.

"We have set very high expectations for 2023. We are all very excited and optimistic that things will go well this year," said Liu.

Liu said he and his troupe are hoping to present at least 100 shows in 2023.