An (left) is the head of the troupe, which performs in a local dialect from Shaanxi province. The genre is known for its intense rhythm and high-pitched singing. [Photo by Pei Qiang for China Daily]

Seeing the increasing number of young people watching the Qinqiang Opera has made the troupe's head An Wan happy.

"I want young people to love the genre and try singing it. I have more than 1.2 million followers on social media now, with about 300,000 being born in the 1990s and 2000s who have kept motivating me to let the opera be known by more people," the 47-year-old man says about his account on Kuaishou.