Year：2006

Sort：Traditional Opera

Area：Shaanxi

Serial No.：Ⅳ-16

Declarer：Shaanxi Province

Also dubbed Luantan,QinqiangOpera is a local Chinese opera that mainly thrives in north China's Shaanxi Province, as well as its neighboring regions in Northwest China, like Gansu andQinghai provinces and the Ningxia Hui andXinjiangUygur autonomous regions. It boasts the most ancient, affluent, and largest musical system of all Chinese operas.

The opera first originated from local folk songs and dance forms in theYellow RiverValley of Shaanxi andGansu provinces -- the birthplaces of Chinese culture. According to historical records, the opera "first appeared in theQin Dynasty(221-206BC), experienced great refinement in theHan Dynasty(206 BC-220 AD), flourished in the Tang (618-907), was formally integrated as an opera form in theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368), matured in theMing Dynasty(1368-1644) and became widespread in theQing Dynasty(1644-1911)." Its time-honored history has endowed Qinqiang with a reputation as the forefather of Chinese operas.