QINGDAO has a long-established relationship with the development of Chinese drama.

Located on Fushan Road in Shinan District, a two-story European-style building was the former residential house of Hong Shen, who is known as the “father of Chinese drama.”

Hong’s father was the secretary of the internal affairs department of the Republic of China in 1930s. He took residence in Qingdao when he was invited to work at Shandong University in 1933 and started working in areas such as writing plays and holding acting activities. In 1934, he wrote China’s first movie play. During his stay in Qingdao, he also published a magazine about drama.

“Actually, 20 years before his first movie, Hong wrote a drama in Qingdao,” said Chi Tao, president of the city’s institute of art. He wrote the play with the idea of a kind of pear planted in Laoshan Mountain.

After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the city’s drama arts have made great achievements due to the establishment of its modern drama troupe in 1956.

In 1956, the Ministry of Culture sent more than 50 actors and actresses from Beijing to found the troupe. In less than 10 years, it has become one of the country’s famous drama troupes and has created many famous plays which were well received among audiences.

(Wang Yuanyuan, Liu Yanqing)