Huguang Guild Hall

Founded by Beijing residents coming from Hunan and Hubei Provinces, Huguang Guild Hall provides a place for lodging and gathering of fellow townsmen. It has a history of over 190 years traced back to 1807 when investments were gathering for its foundation. At that time, its premier role was to host students who came to Beijing to attend the Royal Exam and officials who were waiting for their

nomination. Located at the commercial area in the south of Xuanwu District, it had convenient traffic and was thus selected to host weddings and banquets. It was one of centers of political and social life in the Late Qing Dynasty, where authoritative officials and average persons had fun together, dining, chatting and watching Beijing Opera staged by famous actors.
It had been renewed in 1990 and the Grand Theater opened to the public on May 8 1996. Some top actors like Mei Baojiu and Zhang Xuejin attended its debut. From then on, it has been a major stage of Beijing Opera. In 1997, Huguang Guild Hall was opened to the public as a whole and renamed Beijing Museum of Traditional Opera.