by Xinhua writer Tian Ye     

    FUZHOU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The run-up to the Spring Festival remains the busiest season for Chen Mei, head of the Fujian Provincial Opera House.

    "Now we have to use three trucks to carry the staff and costume before leaving for the villages, while two years ago, one truck would do," she said.

    Chen's performance troupe is scheduled for five-to-six shows on the 19th and 20th in Qingliu and Songxi, two counties in the north of China's coastal Fujian Province. There the crew will dress in colorful long robes like those in the Peking opera and sing in Fujian dialect.

    "The artistic shows are popular with locals but it has become increasingly more challenging for the troupe to meet locals' growing demands for art," she said. The Spring Festival falls on January 26 this year.

    "Local farmers now ask for more renowned actors, more well-designed costumes ... Local artistic groups want to learn and integrate performance skills into their own provincial art troupes."

    "In the past, any kind of show would be popular; they just went for the ride. And now it's different." she said.

    Chen attributed villagers' higher demand on performance quality to the high frequency of performances and the growing number local art troupes in recent years.