Southern culture runs deep in district’s veins
Cantonese Opera and Wing Chun martial arts heritage attract the young generation to Enning Road neighborhood in Guangdong's capital, Li Yingxue and Li Wenfang report in Guangzhou.
Reviving history
Cen Zhaowei, who grew up in the Enning Road historical district, returned in 2016. His goal is to inspire more young people to practice Wing Chun — not just for physical fitness but as a way of life.
"Wing Chun is about going with the flow, balancing yin and yang. It's not only a philosophy but a lifestyle," Cen Zhaowei explains.
He sees his studio in Enning Road as the ideal setting to blend tradition with modernity, making it a strong base for developing Guangzhou's martial arts culture.
Cen Zhaowei began practicing Wing Chun when he was 12 and says that the neighbors have memories of people practicing it. Now, he has partnered with elementary schools to teach Wing Chun to children.
"Learning martial arts is challenging and mastering Wing Chun is even harder," Cen Zhaowei says, adding that the practice engages the eyes, hands, ears, waist and mind, offering physical and mental benefits.
To make the lessons more engaging, he allows students to practice with a wooden dummy and experiments by adding features to the dummy to make training more fun. "As inheritors, we must pass this tradition down through generations," he says.
Like Wing Chun, Cantonese Opera is also experiencing a revival on Enning Road thanks to the opening of the Cantonese Opera Art Museum in 2016. Once a gathering place for great performers, the district now attracts a new generation of talent.
"Cantonese Opera is a pillar of Lingnan culture and Liwan is its birthplace," Tang Peiwen says.
At 34, Tang is leading this resurgence. A celebrated performer and the first inheritor of Cantonese Opera from the post-1990 generation in Liwan district, Tang also oversees a children's heritage program at the museum. Since its launch eight years ago, she has trained over 400 students through partnerships with local elementary schools.
While vocal ability matters, Tang values the passion for Cantonese opera and an interest in preserving traditional culture above all. "My goal is to ensure that this art form takes root in the children's hearts and spreads to their families and communities," she says.
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