As Steven and I didn't want to leave Chengdu without experiencing the mysterious face-changing, or bian lian, where actors quickly switch between elaborate masks to depict different emotions, we spent our last night in the city at the Shufeng Yayun Opera House. The multifunctional theater inside Chengdu Culture Park, which we'd visited earlier that day, was the most famous venue in Sichuan Province for Chinese traditional opera performances, Sichuan folk art shows, and exquisite handicraft exhibits.
Built in 1998, the venue hosted two performances each evening, attracting distinguished performers from across Sichuan Province and continuing to spread the traditional art to a new generation, keeping the historic culture alive.
Janina, an unusual bathroom sign for you at the opera house!
Visitors paying a surcharge for VIP tickets could enjoy a cultural experience first, including free tea and services such as a neck massage, dressing in elaborate Chinese costumes, and traditional ear cleaning.
You can see that I opted for the latter, as no place we'd ever visited had I been given that choice! It was a fine line between pleasure and discomfort.
As the theater was also a teahouse, guests were served bottomless cups of local tea before and during the performance in exquisite, fragile Chinese porcelain cups and saucers, along with bowls of sunflower seeds.
When the performance began, a Chinese Canadian guest sitting behind us kindly kept us informed throughout the show of what was being said, since it was all in Sichuanese, a branch of Southwestern Mandarin. The emcee announced that the musician was playing the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet.
There was so much activity on the stage, we didn't know where to focus our attention.
Tea being replenished during the show:
We watched entranced as the male performer plucked a flower and inserted it into the marionette's headpiece using wires. I don't know if he was a magician, but his artistry with manipulating wires seemed magical!
All the show's acts were accompanied by musicians at the back of the stage.
I expect you've seen Chinese acrobats on TV. Watching the tumbling routines at the Shu Feng was thrilling, as they seemed to move at a mile a minute!
There were lots of young kids in the audience - they too seemed to love the show.
Moments after the acrobats left the stage, hand shadow puppets made an appearance with lots of oohs and ahhs from the delighted audience. Their animal outlines were amazing.
How long have you ever tried to hold your breath? I ask because this musician must have held his breath for at least a minute. It was so long, I thought that his eyes and cheeks were going to pop out!
The fellow who had just walked by us before appearing onstage had his robe taken away by the female performer because he had been playing mahjong instead of studying. That was his reprimand.
Wearing the large red circle on his shirt was his first punishment, as it meant he had no other clothes on underneath.
After more antics, our helpful interpreter told us he'd learned his lesson and wouldn't be playing mahjong again, only poker in the future!
What we'd really come for was the spectacular face-changing part of the show. No number of still photos can do the next routine justice, but I hope you will still appreciate the mesmerising costumes and be able to imagine that a flick of the performer's sash wrought an immediate change on their face!
The facemasks were painted with colorful, ornate designs.
If you blinked during that flick of the sash, you'd miss that new revelation! To see that instantaneous change was mind-blowing; there is no other expression I can think of to describe it.
With another character, it was a flash of a fan that made the transformation!
Another flick of the fan brought on another remarkable transformation!
And still another!
All too soon, the amazing 90-minute extravaganza came to an end.
The staff had to quickly clean up before another show began a few minutes later.
We didn't know whether the exercise classes in the park by the opera house were a nightly affair.
It was fun seeing two Westerners joining in on one of them.
The following morning, Steven and I took the train to Hong Kong. We got to the correct train station and found the correct gate easily enough, as it was easily marked. However, we started sweating peanuts when it appeared there was some concern about our tickets and documents.
Unlike the night before at the opera, there was no one able or willing to help translate what the officials were saying to us or what we were trying to say to them. We were quite concerned that we would miss the train, but we were finally given the go-ahead and allowed to proceed. Phew!
By that point in our trip, we were used to the myriad of instructions to keep both Chinese people and foreign tourists on the straight and narrow! Our water bottles had to be spill-proof; we couldn't make noise; we couldn't inconvenience other passengers while adjusting the backrest; and certain behaviours would not be accepted, etc.
The overhead sign alerted passengers that the train would stop quickly at Zhaoqindong.
Google Lens identified this arched bridge as being in Taiwan. Obviously, that was incorrect, but perhaps we'll see it on our upcoming trip, which will also include a lengthy stop in that country!
The eight-hour journey through the Chinese countryside was long, but it gave us a deep appreciation for its varied scenery.
Next post: Our first day exploring Hong Kong!
Posted on March 8th, 2026, from our elder daughter's home in Brooklyn, before we head home to Denver later today. After bopping around the Caribbean and the country for the last six weeks or so, we're looking forward to staying put for three weeks before embarking on an almost three-month adventure to the southern seas. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones.
