Dongguan government has pledged 3 million yuan each year to support the development of Cantonese opera in Dongguan as of the year 2010.
"A further 2 million yuan will be added to the existent one-million yuan provision to support the development of Cantonese opera. 1.2 million yuan will be used to fund amateur Cantonese opera troupes while 0.8 million yuan to create superior Cantonese operas," as Yan Xiaokang vice mayor of Dongguan City annouced in a working conference Tuesday.
Cantonese Opera
Yan also revealed other good news in that the Dongguan Cantonese Opera Troupe is expected to be formally recognized in the near future.
Cantonese opera, one of the intangible heritages in the world, is still popular especially those in in their middle ages as well as the elderly people in Dongguan. As the hometown of Cantonese opera, there have been over 300 amateur opera troupes such as Chang'an Cantonese Opera Troupe, predominantly in Guangdong Province. Regretfully, Dongguan has had no formal Cantonese opera troupe recognized even though the desire has been supported by the government for many years.
(By Tan Jing)
