Exploring an opera legend's connections with the city

Renowned performer Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) has already been the focus of many exhibitions, but the latest to deal with the Peking Opera legend focuses solely on his connection to Shanghai, the city where he lived in later years, and where he came up with his famous innovations to the traditional art form.

An ongoing exhibition at the Shanghai History Museum, The Plum Blossoms in the East: Mei Lanfang in Shanghai, contains 191 objects, 82 of which are on public display for the first time. They include one 8-meter fan painting, as well as footage of Mei's visit to the former Soviet Union in 1935, alongside exquisite costumes, props, letters, music and other historical objects.

The exhibition is hosted by the Beijing-based Mei Lanfang Memorial Museum, Shanghai University, the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and the China Peking Opera Art Foundation, and runs till February 2024.