Sichuan opera has long history on China tourism. it dates back in China's Three Kingdom period when a kind of opera form as 'Canjun opera' came into being. While in Tang dynasty, a band of five?appeared in Chengdu. Till Song dynasty, the opera developed into Tsa-chu. In Ming dynasty, artist of Sichuan opera performed the skill in Jinling (nowadys Nanjing city). During the period of Yongzheng and Qianlong in Qing dynasty, as the 'Huabu' drama propered, Kunqu, Yiyang aria, Bangzi aria and Pihuang aria merged with local languages, folk customs, ditties, yang-kos and Dengdiaos in Sichuan as they moved into the place. At the end of Qing dynasty, Sichuan opera was played from temple fairs, halls and yard to urban theaters.

[img]http://www.chinatour.com/pictures/guide/contentpic/1404878251.... changing faces part of Sichuan opera is performed by an actor wearing a silk mask that looks similar to a Peking Opera mask along your Chengdu travel. The actor struts and spins around the stage. When the actor spins around, or jerks his head, his mask is changed for another. An experienced actor can have dozens of masks that he can change. Most visitors try to figure out how it is done, but it is done with such speed that its secret cannot be discerned. It is very similar to watching a magic show in the middle of an opera.

Face changing is a magical art and part under Chengdu City Guide. Actors change more than 10 masks in less than 20 seconds! By raising the hand, swinging a sleeve or tossing the head, an actor uses different masks to show different emotions, expressing invisible and intangible feelings through visible and tangible masks. From green to blue, red, yellow, brown, black, dark and gold, these masks show fear, tension, relaxation, slyness, desperation, outrage, and so on.