Series uncovers Peking Opera

Traditional Peking Opera is a quintessential part of Chinese culture. The ancient art has been reinvented for modern popular culture, seen in movies and even on the catwalk. But few people outside China really know about Peking Opera.

Now a documentary series, which will premiere this Monday on CCTV's Documentary channel, aims to shed light on the fascinating stories behind it.

Peking Opera is one of China's best known cultural symbols - a unique stage performance that has charmed people for hundreds of years. But despite the opera's fame around the world, few people really know of the art form's history and understand its cultural significance to China. CCTV documentary production "Peking Opera" is just about to reveal the stories behind this form of Chinese opera.

"There are altogether 247 interviews in this 8-episode series. This really is a lot for a documentary," said the series' director Kang Jianning.

Real names and real stories are a highlight of the series. "The people we have interviewed include performers, fans, scholars, and the descendants of the great opera masters from the past. We're not looking into the singing or the make-up, we're making a journey into these people's lives," Kang said.

"We want as many interviews as possible, and we'll select the best moments from each of them. We're trying to make it a huge gathering of all-stars," director Jiang Yue said.

Eight episodes take 8 different perspectives in exploring art form. By weaving together real stories and reproductions of classic stage scenes into the history, the creators wish to present traditional Peking Opera in a lively and realistic way.