It originated from many kinds of ancient local operas, especially huiban in southern China.
By the end of the 19th Century, Beijing Opera had evolved and taken shape, becoming the greatest kind of opera in China. Beijing Opera is a blend of performing arts——song, speech, performance, acrobatix fighting and dance.
Beijing Opera portrays and narrates the plot and characters through stylized acting. The main types of roles in Beijing Opera are sheng(male), dan (young female), jing (painted face, male), and chou( clown, male or female).