Red Army Female Soldiers by Jinxi River, a modern Meilin Opera, shows Chinese people fighting Japanese aggression. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Li explained that he barely finished his primary school when he was recruited to the troupe of Meilin Opera in 1960. He started to learn from seasoned artists, many of whom were already in their 70s and 80s.

"Every morning I get up at 4 am to practice, and I also have to take care of three to four teachers in the troupe," he said.

The troupe also had to use carrying poles to take all their belongings as they shifted from one village to another to perform the opera, he recalled.

He started on stage playing the Monkey King when he was 15, and the troupe would play three to five plays on a daily basis in the early 1960s.

"I was so exhausted from performing that I lost consciousness on stage several times," he said.

What is also worrying is that so far the opera can only attract middle-aged and elderly audiences, he said.