In 2025, the Zhejiang Zhongyue Wu Opera boldly transcended boundaries, fusing the millennia-old intangible cultural heritage of Wu opera with futuristic vision to present a groundbreaking avant-garde production: the new-concept Wu opera Sun Wukong's Three Battles Against the White-Bone Demon. This production transcends conventional theatrical presentation, serving as a boundary-pushing experiment in intangible heritage preservation. It liberates the classic myth from temporal constraints, making a stunning debut in a wholly new avant-garde form.

 

This is adapted from the Chinese epic Journey to the West and tells the story of the monk Tripitaka and his disciples meeting the Skeleton Demon on their pilgrimage for the holy scripture. The Monkey King Sun Wu Kong defeats the demon in three different disguises but is punished by his master Trpitaka for manslaughter. 

 

 

 

Wu Opera is an art form of traditional Chinese theater that combines music, vocal performance, mine, dance and martial arts. It is the second major theatrical genre in Zhejiang, with a history of over 400 years. It has a longer history than the world-famous Peking Opera. Since Wu Opera had a profound influence on the evolvement and development of Peking Opera, it was considered as the forefather of Peking Opera by the legendary opera artist Mei Langfang. The performing art was extremely popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the most important cultural treasures of China. It’s based in Jinhua City of Zhejiang Province, in southeastern China. In recent years, following the rapid and dramatic changes in concepts and lifestyles of the Chinese people, the survival of Wu Opera is facing a big challenge. The art form is losing audiences especially among the younger generation. However, the city’s government and the bearers of Wu Opera are sparing no effort to ensure the form’s survival.