The traditional Chinese Shaoxing opera has a long history, but these days it seems that young people don't show much interest in it.
Nowadays, as pop music and online films are popular with the public, Shaoxing opera is struggling for its survival. The market of the opera is becoming smaller. It remains popular only with the older generation. According to Zhejiang provincial cultural department, the most of fans of Shaoxing opera, China's second largest traditional opera, are above 40 years old. And many teenagers know nothing about Shaoxing opera and have never been to the theatre.
Yang Jianxin, head of the department, said, "Now, young people are crazy about other art forms but not the traditional operas. The largest problem for Shaoxing opera today is how to become acceptable to the young. "
Actually, not only Shaoxing opera but also many other traditional Chinese operas are in danger. That's really worrying. Luckily, people are trying to protect them. For example, Kunqu has been listed as one of the Masterpieces（杰作）of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2001.
In 2006, Shaoxing opera, for the fist time in history, entered the pub（酒吧）. It was really a good try to attract the youth. Besides, a Shaoxing opera group opened a Shaoxing opera blog on the Internet to invite people, especially the young, to express their opinions about this traditional art form.
