Traditional Chinese medical techniques called acupuncture and moxibustion have also just been adopted on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. And so was the traditional show-stopper, Peking Opera. Now, if you're not very familiar with these old-fashioned but still-popular practices, here's your chance to find out more.

Traditional Chinese medical techniques called acupuncture and moxibustion have also just been adopted on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Peking Opera is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting, martial arts. Although widely practiced throughout China since 200 years ago, its performance centers in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Peking Opera is sung and recited using primarily Beijing dialect, and its librettos are composed according to a strict set of rules that prize form and rhyme. The music of the opera plays a key role in setting the pace of the show, using string and wind instruments as well as percussion instruments. Performance is characterized by a formulaic and symbolic style with actors and actresses following established choreography for movements of hands, eyes, and feet. Costumes are flamboyant and the exaggerated facial make-up uses concise symbols, colors and patterns to portray characters' personalities and social identities.

Peking Opera was inscribed on the first National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China in May 2006.