Chongqing’s Rehearsal Halls Hum as Troupes Prepare for Global and Domestic Stages

Chongqing—Late autumn has brought a chill to this mountain city's streets, but inside the rehearsal halls of Chongqing's state-owned performing arts troupes, the pace is anything but quiet. Wheels roll across floors, voices rise in vocal exercises, and sheet music turns in quick succession. Across the city, stage artists prepare for a season that will take some abroad and others to national platforms.

Acrobatics: 21 Women Head to Germany

At the Chongqing Acrobatic Art Troupe, a formation change is underway well before 10 a.m. Flips, tosses, and stacked poses are executed atop speeding bicycles. At the end of November, a 21-member women's stunt cycling team will travel to Germany for a performance upon invitation.

"Stunt cycling is not a solo display of skill-it is precision teamwork," said performer Wang Jingyu, wiping sweat between runs. The core of rehearsal is balance, rhythm, and rapport. "When a move gets stuck, it is normal to adjust it dozens of times."

Two years ago, the same team toured Spain for more than 100 performances. This time, coach Wang Tao said, the program has been upgraded: more riders, a larger scale, and a new "running on backs" stunt in which a performer sprints across the backs of cyclists riding in formation. "The cyclists must hold speed and spacing; the runner must cross a moving human bridge," Wang said. "One misstep affects the whole group.

Chongqing's women's group stunt cycling has been passed down for more than 70 years, combining strength and resilience with a distinct grace, Wang added. The team has been preparing for the Germany tour for nearly half a year.

Peking Opera: A Local Story, a New Generation

At the Chongqing Peking Opera Company's rehearsal hall in Yuzhong District, vocal exercises signal the start of work on Migration to Wanling (working title), a 2026 municipal stage-art project. The opera is scheduled for Dec. 25-26.

Adapted from Wang Yu's novel Between Four Rivers—published in English translation under that title—the opera is set in Wanling ancient town in Rongchang. It follows Ning Xi, a Hakka woman who, after being resettled in Sichuan, builds a new life through land cultivation and enterprise. Her love story with local gentry Zhao Shulin runs through the narrative.

Zhao Weiming, a Wenhua Director Award winner, directs the production, with Wang Yu as playwright. To bring younger performers forward, Zhou Li, a Plum Blossom Award winner and deputy director of the company, and second-class actress Tian Lin share the role of Ning Xi. First-class actor Liu Zhu and young actor Sun Heyuan perform Zhao Shulin.

"The 'old mentoring new' lineup is in place," said Wang Xiaoping, the company's Party secretary. "We want the young actors to treat this production as a learning experience—to bring their courage and adaptability to the stage."

Opera: A Salon Takes Root, a Prize-Winning Work Reimagined

At the Chongqing Opera House, the focus is on bringing high art closer to audiences. On Oct. 26, the company launched Yunhu Salon, a resident chamber-music series at the Chongqing Guotai Art Center. The format places musicians and singers in close proximity to listeners, with narration and conversation woven into the performance.

"We want to break down the distance around high art and let audiences feel opera's appeal in a relaxed setting," a representative of the opera house said. The salon has already drawn a repeat following. The company is now preparing a narrated concert version of Dust Settled Down, its original ethnic opera that won a Wenhua Repertoire Award. The concert will retain core arias while adding narrative explanation, aiming to let audiences both "appreciate the craft and enjoy the spectacle."

Drama: A Small Play, a National Stage

At the Chongqing Drama Theatre, the original play The Dissipation Cycle of Romance (working title) is in final preparations for the Second National Small Plays and Sketches Exhibition, co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Hunan Provincial People's Government. The production will be staged in Changsha in mid-November.

"Small plays are short, but what they distill is the essence of life," said Zhang Lanxin, the actress who plays the female lead.

From acrobatic wheels to Peking Opera arias, from salon melodies to small-theater dialogue, Chongqing's troupes are each preparing in their own idiom. Some will carry Chinese acrobatics to Germany; some will tell a Ba-Yu story through Peking Opera; some are testing how far opera can travel outside the concert hall; and one is taking a compact drama to a national showcase. In each case, the work growing in these rehearsal halls is headed somewhere beyond them.