Gaotai Acrobatic Stage in Tonghai County, Yuxi
Taige (Tonghai Gaotai): A Traditional Folk Custom in Tonghai County, Yunnan Province
Taige (抬阁), also known as Tonghai Gaotai (通海高台), is a traditional folk custom of Tonghai County in Yunnan Province, and one of China’s national intangible cultural heritage items.
Tonghai Gaotai is a preserved form of taige performance, practiced during traditional festivals in Tonghai County. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, military settlers from Guangdong and Fujian brought the performance arts of “Taige (抬阁)” and “Piaose (飘色)” to Yunnan.
According to the Gaotai Society Stele (《高台会碑》) erected on April 27, 1842 (the 22nd year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty), the custom of welcoming Gaotai originated during the Qianlong era in the counties of Tonghai (通海) and Hexi (河西, now under the jurisdiction of Tonghai County). It began in Qijie (七街, now a town under Tonghai County) and later spread to Hexi Town (河西城), Tonghai Town (通海城), and surrounding villages.
During the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing Dynasty, towns such as Qijie (七街), Tonghai County Seat (通海县城), Hexi (河西县城), Sijie (四街), and Yangguang (杨广, now a town under Tonghai County) established their own Gaotai Societies (高台会), which have passed down the tradition to the present day.
The Gaotai parade is usually held annually on the 16th day of the first lunar month and is called “Welcoming the Gaotai (迎高台).” In regular years, twelve Gaotai platforms are displayed, while in leap years, there are thirteen.
One of the key challenges in crafting a Gaotai is to ensure that the structural support, known as the “muscles and bones (筋骨)”—referring to the iron rods holding up the stage—remain hidden. Achieving a natural and seamless appearance is the hallmark of skilled Gaotai artisans.
A Gaotai is essentially a mobile stage, with each platform representing a theatrical scene. Carefully selected and trained children aged four to five are dressed up to play various roles, usually drawn from traditional Chinese opera stories. The Gaotai parade is accompanied by traditional music and features other folk performances such as donkey lanterns (毛驴灯) and dragon dances (龙灯).
On May 20, 2011, Taige (Tonghai Gaotai) was officially listed in the third batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, under project number X-87.
Historical Origins
There are various interpretations regarding the origin and development of Tonghai Gaotai.
1. The Early Qing Dynasty “Earthen Gaotai” in Tonghai
According to the Tonghai County Gazetteer, it is recorded:
“In the Hexi area, when a child was born, a wooden frame would be set up in front of the house to display the child. Later, several families gathered in temples to give thanks to the gods. When times were peaceful, lantern towers were erected at city gates for celebration, and the local community participated enthusiastically.”
This account describes the early Qing Dynasty practice in Tonghai County, where to encourage childbirth and production, families who gave birth to boys would place the child on a square table in front of their house on his first birthday. They would set up an incense altar and invite neighbors to celebrate. The boy would then be carried in a parade around the town. At the time, the county magistrate would personally offer congratulations and present a “Hundred-Family Lock” as a gesture of official goodwill.
As more families had boys, several would place their children on a single table for a group parade. Eventually, people began using curved tree branches fixed to wooden frames, with boys tied and seated on the structure, carried by four men. This became known as the “Earthen Gaotai” (土高台). It is said that this was the origin of the Tonghai Gaotai tradition.
2. The Mid-Qing Dynasty “Gaotai Societies” in Tonghai
According to the Supplement to the Hexi County Gazetteer,
“Gaotai in Hexi began in the early Ming Dynasty and flourished in the early and late Qing Dynasty.”
Tonghai Gaotai likely originated from the Jiangnan region during the Ming Dynasty. By the late Qing, nearly every village had its own Gaotai drama troupe. During festivals, these troupes would tour neighboring villages for performances, leading to a golden age for Gaotai opera.
The Gaotai Society Stele from the 24th year of Daoguang’s reign (1844) states:
“To dispel loneliness, a ‘Gaotai Society’ was established to enhance the spectacle.”
This suggests that during the Qing Dynasty, Tonghai Gaotai was a highly popular folk tradition eagerly awaited by the local people.
During the Qianlong reign, brothers Xiang Zongkun and Xiang Zongbin from Qijie in Tonghai passed the imperial examination and became magistrates in Yangchun County, Guangdong and Jianyang County, Fujian respectively. In these regions, spring festivals featured performances similar to the “Earthen Gaotai,” with decorative, story-based displays.
Upon returning to their hometown after their service, the brothers brought these artistic elements with them and improved upon the original Earthen Gaotai—especially in character design, costumes, and props. This led to a fusion of opera, novels, mythology, folktales, sculpture, painting, bamboo framing, iron and wood craftsmanship, and decorative arts. Eventually, the Tonghai Gaotai evolved into what could be called a “miniature theatrical landscape” or a “three-dimensional storytelling bonsai.”
During the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, due to the public’s love for Gaotai, Gaotai Societies were established in Qijie, Tonghai County seat, Hexi, Sijie, and Yangguang. They collectively purchased farmland, and the annual rent collected in grain was used for organizing Gaotai events.
By the Republican era, Tonghai Gaotai had become a distinct folk art in the county. There were four Gaotai Societies in Tonghai: in the county seat, Hexi, Qijie, and Yangguang. Each year during the first lunar month, these societies would organize twelve Gaotai parades. In leap years, an additional thirteenth platform was included, adding to the festive atmosphere.
3. Late Qing Dynasty Gaotai Opera
Tonghai Gaotai Opera is a form of Huadeng (lantern) opera Gaotai that evolved by incorporating various theatrical elements based on Huadeng and folk mountain songs.
Most sources agree that Tonghai Gaotai Opera was influenced by coastal regions. According to the Tonghai County Gazetteer, it is a highly visual, representative, and technically demanding form of mobile stage art, essentially a condensed theatrical or storytelling performance.
While the art form was nurtured in the culturally rich region of Tonghai in Yunnan, it also borrowed significantly from the Gaotai traditions of coastal Guangdong. Each of the origin stories mentioned above may hold some truth and together represent different contributing factors in the evolution of Tonghai Gaotai Opera.
Historians estimate that Tonghai Gaotai has gone through cycles of prosperity, decline, and revival over the past 400 years within the long stream of traditional Chinese culture.
The development of Tonghai Gaotai Opera can be divided into several stages, with its final form taking shape in the late Qing Dynasty. According to the Ethnography of Tongren Region, Guizhou, the development of Gaotai Opera included three main stages:
- Gong-and-Drum Lantern and Silk-and-Bamboo Lantern stage, based on Huadeng Opera.
- Low Platform Opera stage, where early forms of Gaotai began to develop.
- Gaotai Opera stage, where the full-fledged mobile theatrical art form emerged.
The developmental trajectory of Tonghai Gaotai Opera closely followed this three-stage pattern.
Folk Customs
Performance Style
Tonghai Gaotai (通海高台), represented by the Qijie Gaotai (七街高台), primarily features the local Huadeng Opera (花灯戏) as its foundation. However, during its development, it has extensively incorporated elements from local Nuo Opera (傩戏), Chenhe Opera (辰河戏) from Xiangju (湘剧), and Sichuan Opera (川戏), including vocal styles and performance techniques.
Therefore, Gaotai Opera (高台戏) can be considered a newly emerged form of folk theatrical performance that fuses and innovates both local and external opera traditions. It is the product of the integration between local cultural arts and outside influences, and its artistic expression is notably comprehensive.
During the Gaotai parade, children aged 6 to 8, who have been carefully selected and trained, are secured onto the platforms. With their coordinated gestures and expressions, each Gaotai becomes a mobile mini-stage. As the procession moves slowly, the young performers enact their roles with expressive movements—snapping cigarette boxes, swinging long sleeves, mimicking rowing, cracking horsewhips, and dancing with fans—interacting vividly with the colorful scenes on the platforms, creating a charming and lively visual display.
Story Content
The stories chosen for Gaotai performances are mostly related to deities, emperors and generals, talented scholars and beautiful ladies, and heroic figures. The themes cover both ancient legends and modern life, and also reflect ethnic customs. Representative story titles include:
- Zhang Yu Boiling the Sea (《张羽煮海》)
- Liu Yi Delivers a Letter (《柳毅传书》)
- Flooding the Jinshan Temple (《水漫金山》)
- Xu Xian Borrows an Umbrella (《许仙借伞》)
- The Crossroad Inn (《十字坡》)
- Three Battles with the White Bone Demon (《三打白骨精》)
- Romance of the Western Chamber (《西厢记》)
- The Butterfly Lovers (《梁祝》)
- The General and the Prime Minister Reconciled (《将相和》)
- Borrowing the East Wind (《借东风》)
- Journey to the West (《西游记》)
- Water Margin (《水浒传》)
- Fishing Songs of Lake Qi (《杞湖渔歌》)
Performance Music
One of the major differences between Tonghai Gaotai Opera (通海高台戏) and other folk platform performance arts (拾阁民俗表演艺术) across China is that each play is composed of spoken dialogue (recitative) and sung verses, which alternate throughout the performance.
The sung portions typically include several to over a dozen musical segments, each being an independent musical unit. These musical segments often follow structures such as paired lines, four-phrase or multi-phrase single segments. Each musical phrase is accompanied by equally long instrumental accompaniments at both the beginning and end, forming a symmetrical and well-structured unit, usually consisting of four measures. This symmetry is a hallmark of Gaotai music structure.
The paired-line format is commonly used, with each musical segment performed by different characters in the play. These segments often engage in melodic and lyrical call-and-response, enhancing the theatrical dynamism.
Musically, the opera shows innovation and evolution in its modal and melodic structure. The primary mode is the pentatonic Zhi mode (徵调式), followed by Yu mode (羽调式), Gong mode (宫调式), and Shang mode (商调式). The Zhi mode maintains a complete pentatonic scale, while the other modes often appear in incomplete forms; notably, the Shang mode sometimes features a six-tone scale.
Thus, Tonghai Gaotai is considered one of the more professional and sophisticated forms among China’s various folk platform performance traditions.
Inheritance and Protection
Cultural Value of Inheritance
The Tonghai Gaotai (通海高台) plays a significant role in preserving the fine traditions of the Chinese nation and enhancing community cohesion. It also holds research value in the fields of folklore, arts, and history.
Current Status of Inheritance
Many people, especially the younger generation, remain unfamiliar with this art form, raising concerns about the future of Gaotai (高台) inheritance. Due to the substantial manpower and material resources required for the Gaotai parade, performances in Tonghai County Town (通海县城) and Yangguang Gaotai (杨广高台) have been suspended. Only the Hexi (河西) and Qijie (七街) Gaotai groups have weathered the storms, persistently carrying on the tradition while continuously introducing new elements.
Key Inheritor
Gongsun Xin (公孙馨), male, born in October 1949, is of Han ethnicity and a native of Tonghai County, Yunnan Province (云南省通海县). He is a fourth-generation national-level representative inheritor of an intangible cultural heritage project. The project is titled “Taige (Tonghai Gaotai)” (抬阁〔通海高台〕), and the applying region is Tonghai County, Yunnan Province.
Protection Measures
In November 2019, the List of National Representative Project Protection Units for Intangible Cultural Heritage was released, and the Tonghai County Cultural Center (通海县文化馆) was granted protection unit status for the “Taige (Tonghai Gaotai)” project.
On October 31, 2023, the updated List of National Representative Project Protection Units for Intangible Cultural Heritage was announced. Due to significant changes in the nature and structure of the original protection unit, it was deemed no longer eligible. The Tonghai County Cultural Center (Tonghai County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center) (通海县文化馆〔通海县非物质文化遗产保护中心〕) was re-designated as the new protection unit.
Social Impact
Major Events
On February 8, 2016, a Spring Festival parade was held in Tonghai County Town, Yunnan Province (云南省通海县城), during which the Tonghai Gaotai was performed.
From January 1 to February 29, 2020, the Tonghai New Year cultural and sports series included: a Spring Festival sports competition, opera performances in rural areas, the 18th Tonghai Spring Flower Street Fair, folk art exhibitions, Xiushan Park activities, and “Three Services to the Countryside” campaigns (culture, science, and healthcare). The Tonghai Gaotai was one of the featured performances during the celebrations.
