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Shanghai drama, under the influence of western dramas, developed into a distinct new style. Hundreds of new Shanghai drama programs with actors and actresses in modern costumes and Western-style clothes were created from 1903 to the beginning of 1910. Shanghai opera broke the conventions of traditional Beijing opera by creating vivid and lively artistic images, integral stage art effects, and unique music with ancient elements.

Today, the main Shanghai drama troupe is the Shanghai Drama Performing Art Centre, which introduced the system of ‘producing by producers’ in 1995. According to its Chairman, the center usually performs three kinds of plays: famous worldwide classical plays like Thunder Storm, Sun Rise, Red and Black, and more. The plays are full of elements of Shanghai local taste like Wang Anyi’s Everlasting Regret, Chang Hen Ge, Elieen Chang’s The Golden Cangue, Love in a Fallen City, and more. These plays distinguish the Shanghai brand from Beijing drama and have generated lots of fame for Shanghai drama, in addition to pioneering Shanghai’s urbanism.