The Twin Opera Towers

The Twin Opera Towers

In Xiyang Township, Jing County, there are two opera towers — one is the Lixiyang Opera Tower and the other is the Waixiyang Opera Tower. Built in the same era with similar architectural styles, they are referred to locally as the Twin Opera Towers. They are also called the Wanniantai (Eternal Stage) because temple fairs held here every September feature performances to honor the gods.

Both towers were built during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. During the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods, this area was a battleground where the Taiping Army and Qing forces fought back and forth. No temples remained in either Lixiyang or Waixiyang. In the early Tongzhi years, the Taiping Army suffered setbacks here at the hands of the Qing Army. By the 4th to 5th year of Tongzhi, the war had subsided, and from the 6th to 10th year, agricultural activities resumed, the economy recovered, people lived in peace, and livestock thrived. The Hu family of the region then began constructing their family temple — the Xuantan Temple.

As the Hu family was large with many branches spread across twelve local administrative units (known as “jia”), their descendants built a temple in both Lixiyang and Waixiyang for easier worship. Each temple housed an opera stage. Every September, the whole clan would gather here for lantern displays, competitions, and performances to honor the gods. At the peak of these events, performances would begin on the first day of the ninth lunar month and run for twenty days until the twentieth, featuring mainly Anhui opera and Peking opera. The twelve Hu family branches took turns hosting the events annually. Since the Waixiyang branch had more members, they hosted performances five times every twelve years on their own Waixiyang Wanniantai. Other branches sometimes performed at the Lixiyang Wanniantai. To ensure the performances were grand, ceremonies such as firing cannons and smashing bowls were held, especially when a stage was newly opened or renovated. On the first day, one cannon shot was fired at dawn (the yin hour), two on the second day, four on the third, and so on, increasing geometrically each day. Before the inaugural performance, many empty bowls were placed below the stage and thrown toward it from a certain distance until none broke — only then would the show begin. The atmosphere was extraordinarily lively.

Both towers are built with brick and wood structures. The front section of the Lixiyang Wanniantai features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, while the rear section has a flush gable roof. The front eaves intersect with the front eaves of the rear structure. The stage base is 1.8 meters high, 12 meters wide, and 10 meters deep, with the extended front part being 6.5 meters wide and covering about half the depth of the stage. The ceiling is adorned with large wooden lattice patterns. The stage is divided into front and rear sections by parallel painted screens. Beams and diagonal supports on the eaves are carved with opera-related designs, and the main ridge and hip ridges are decorated with mythical beast ornaments. The Waixiyang Wanniantai resembles the Lixiyang one but has a more complex structure and finer craftsmanship. Its roof features six upturned corners in three tiers, with flying eaves and brackets, giving it a distinctive shape. Inside, there is a single-purlin, beamless caisson ceiling and various floral decorations, all exquisitely crafted. The stage base is about 2 meters high, the entire width is 13.5 meters, and the depth is 10 meters.

On the back wall of the Lixiyang Wanniantai, around 300 opera titles are preserved, with the earliest performance date recorded as the second year of the Guangxu reign. Troupes included Changchun, Sixi, and Shuangxi, among others. Major plays performed included Hundred Patience Picture, Capture of Luoyang, Dragon Boat Gate, Beat the Cherries, Nine-Bestowal Palace, Boundary Tablet Heaven, Yellow Crane Tower, Disturb the Dragon Palace, Capture of Jingzhou, Heaven and Earth Picture, River Wei, and Scold Cao Cao. The Waixiyang Opera Tower underwent renovations, and most of the inscriptions left by troupes — including play titles, performance dates, and troupe names — were painted over. Only some ink marks remain on the back of the wooden screen inside the stage, such as “On the 26th day of the third month in the 21st year of Guangxu, the Shangyuan Troupe inaugurated the stage at the yin hour” and “Perform seriously; if not, you will be fined three plays.” Major plays included Defend the Nation, River Wei, Fallen Horse Lake, Dragon and Tiger Fight, Stone Ferry, Hundred Longevity Picture, Double Loyalty, and Selling Rouge.

Chinese opera has a long and rich history. From the Northern Song to the early Ming Dynasty — over three centuries — with the rise, prosperity, and development of zaju (variety plays) and nanxi (southern drama), along with the southward migration of the Song imperial court and the gradual commercial and transportation growth in southern China, northern and southern operatic arts blended and spread rapidly in southern Anhui. The existence of ancient opera stages in Jing County demonstrates the long history and deep folk roots of theatrical activity in the region.