Huangmei Opera is one of the five major operas in China and the main one in Anhui Province. Hubei, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province Province also have professional or amateur Huangmei Opera performance groups, which are widely welcomed.
Huangmei Opera is simple and fluent in singing, good at lively lyricism and rich in expressive force. The performance is simple and meticulous, and it is famous for its truthfulness and vividness.
In 2006, Huangmei Opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
The outstanding plays of Huangmei Opera include The Fairy Couple, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, The Story of Huaiyin, The Woman Xu, Couples Watching Lights, Beating Pig Grass, Liujingzi, Blue Bridge Society, Lu Yu, Wang Xiaoliu Beating Tofu, Xiaoxidian and so on.
There are three forms of singing in Huangmei Opera: main tune, coloratura and tri-tune (collectively called "colorful tune", "fairy tune" and "Yin Si tune").