Huguang Guild Hall

The Huguang Guild Hall began in the early nineteenth century as a meeting place and theatre for merchants and officials from the Hunan and Hubei regions living in the capital. Its ornate wooden opera stage, framed by carved balconies and red lacquer, is among the best-preserved of Beijing's old guild theatres. Today it stages regular Peking opera performances in a setting steeped in history, and part of the complex houses a small museum on the art form. Visitors come both for the drama and for the chance to sit in a genuine period auditorium.