In the West it is known as the Peking Opera.
After an evolution spanning decades the fusion process led to a new form of opera, called jingju (ching-chü) or “ theatre of the capital”. One very important person in this process was the bangzi actor Cheng Changgeng (Ch’eng Ch’ang-keng), who, in his performances, combined elements from, among others, the kunqu and the clapper opera. Over a period of time they began to adapt the technical characteristics of other local styles. The snake sprits wander on earth in human form. White Snake was originally written for kun opera but is also often performed as a Peking opera. They performed at the Emperor’s eightieth-birthday celebrations, but their performances proved so successful that the troupes stayed on, becoming increasingly popular. The opera-loving Emperor Qianlong (Ch’ien-lung) (who ruled 1736–1795) invited troupes from the province of Anhui to the capital to perform their local style, the bangzi opera or the clapper opera, which has already been discussed above. Many regional opera styles from different parts of the country gained popularity in Peking at the beginning of the new dynasty. There, audiences preferred their own regional styles with familiar dialects, stories and melodies. It was still admired by the educated elite, but its southern dialect and complicated lyrics made it difficult to be appreciated in North China. The popularity of the sophisticated southern kunqu or kun opera was already declining. This one is in the Summer Palace, near Beijing. The largest and technically most complex stage structures in China are usually the imperial stages.
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