New experience

In 1989, after leaving school in Tianjin, Zhang joined a Peking Opera troupe in Beijing, and from 1995 to 2008 she performed with the National Peking Opera Company.

Zhang Yao, director of the Zhang Huoding Peking Opera Cheng School Art Inheritance Center and vice-president of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, said, "For audiences who have watched Zhang, the movie offers them a fresh experience to better enjoy her performance with the support of cinematography.

"For people who might never go to a Peking Opera show, the movie gives them a glimpse of the old art form and Zhang Huoding. They will be interested and will come to watch Peking Opera shows in theaters."

In 2015, Zhang Huoding made her debut in the United States in performances of The Legend of the White Snake and The Jewelry Purse at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

Media reports compared her performances with those of the Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang in New York in 1930. Then, as now, there was a sense that traditional Chinese opera could be popular overseas and even influence the global arts scene.

Zhang Yao, 54, who is also a veteran Peking Opera actor, substituted at the last minute in New York for an actor who couldn't appear in the shows due to visa problems. Zhang Yao performed with Zhang Huoding in these performances.

"Before the shows, we gave audiences a taste of the origins and development of Peking Opera. We pointed out the highlights of each performance with the help of Chinese- and English-speaking Peking Opera specialists. All the shows sold out and audiences responded warmly to the performances," Zhang Yao said.

Zhang Huoding's performances sell out fast and she usually returns to the stage after each show to extend her gratitude to the audience by taking at least five curtain calls.

"She is a star. The movie will introduce her art to a wider audience," Zhang Yao said.