THE third Shanghai Pudong Huju Opera Art Festival will raise its curtain on July 20, presenting more than 20 local cultural performances to audiences.

The festival will gather about 1,000 performers from Huju troupes in Shanghai and nearby cities including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Nanjing. As a local opera of Shanghai, Huju has a history dating back to over 200 years.

The opening ceremony of the festival to be held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena will feature classic Huju operas in different stages of Huju's development. In commemoration of acclaimed Huju artists Wang Yaqin and Wang Pansheng, their famous operas like "Meng Li Jun" and "Huang Pu Nu Chao" will be performed. The suit and cheongsam opera of Huju will be featured.