Declarer£ºShantou and Chaozhou cities, Guangdong Province
Chao Opera, also called "Chaozhou Opera," is a local opera performed in the
Chaozhou dialect with a history over 430 years. It is popular in the Chao'an and
Shantou regions of Guangdong Province, in the southern area of Fujian Province
and in Taiwan where people speak the Chaozhou dialect. It is also performed in
Chinese communities in other countries of Southeast Asia.
Based on the folk dances and ballad singing of the Chaozhou region, it formed
its own style under the influence of Southern Opera, one of the oldest Chinese
operas that originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).