Nuo culture has also attracted overseas viewers. Nuo dramas performed by artists from Guizhou were welcomed in France and Spain, and exhibits of graceful Nuo masks in Yunnan Province were a hit with Japanese visitors.

But experts say there is still much work to be done.

Qu said that the crux of the issue is how to protect the original state of the opera, including its costumes, masks, and, more importantly, the cultural environment where the opera developed.

Professor Koichiro Inahata from the prestigious Waseda University in Japan, acknowledged that some old nuo ritual masks have been lost or have sunk into oblivion over the long history.

 Different nuo at a glance

** In Shiyou, a small village on the border between Jiangxi and Fujian provinces:

In Shiyou village, the nuo dance is performed only once a year. The village dance group begins the year's performances in their home village on the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar year. The next day, they set out for a performing tour atneighboring villages and don't return until the 16th day of the month. On that day, people from the area visit their relatives and friends in Shiyou village, where they are invited to enjoy a meal and nuo dances. The nuo dance in Shiyou village is performed to the sound of a beating drum and war cries of ancient times by the performers. On that night, the entire village is immersed in wild revelry veiled in mystery.

The dance is vigorous, unrestrained, well arranged, and dignified. The art played its part in helping establish the Chinese nation.