[Video/ntfabu.com]

Xingxing Drama Club staged two plays at the Stage Play School in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province on Dec 10.

The two plays were performed outside the school's theater with audiences standing right next to the performers, allowing them to enjoy an immersive experience.

A play is performed by members of Xingxing Drama Club at the Stage Play School in Nantong on Dec 10. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

To create a stronger social atmosphere for opera culture and improve the inheritance of opera art in Nantong, the Nantong Cultural and Artistic Creation Research Center established Xingxing Drama Club in 2019.

The drama club's members are all amateur performers and after two years of professional training, their performance has been significantly improved.

Audiences sit next to performers at the Stage Play School in Nantong on Dec 10. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Since the reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566) in the Ming Dynasty, Nantong has been home to more than 10 types of opera, including Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, and Nantong Opera.

In 1920s, Zhang Jian (1853-1926), a local industrial magnate and scholar, established the Stage Play School, the first drama school in China, and Gengsu Theater, to cultivate drama performers.