The Mei Lanfang Grand Theater in downtown Beijing, which is named after the legendary Peking Opera star, is quite popular among local fans and foreigners alike. So much so that, during weekends, tickets for the nearly 1,100 seats are very often sold out.

Its three-story structure, decorated with traditional Chinese characters on the inside, was built at a cost of nearly 200 million yuan (US$29.24 million) and thrown open to the public in November 2007.

(Left) A fan photographs a statue of Hua Dan, a young, lovely character in Peking Opera, in the corridor of the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater. (Right) A Peking Opera sculpture at the theater.[China Daily]

"In addition to the luxurious interior and intangible value of the Mei Lanfang brand, our unique selling proposition is the all-star lineup from the China National Peking Opera Company," said Yu Sheng, the general manager of the theater.

The China National Peking Opera Company, China's top operatic troupe, entrusted Beijing Guoyishengping Culture Development Co, Ltd to manage the theater and make it commercially viable one and a half years ago. Zhang Delin and his wife Yu, a famous BTV anchorwoman, own the Beijing Guoyishengping.

That move marked a turnaround for the State-owned firm used to government funding to run its operations. An opera ticket at the theater is priced between 2,080 yuan to 50 yuan.

For long, State-owned performance groups like the Peking Opera Company used to be subsidized by the Chinese government.