Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is a composite performance art that is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China; and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years; reaching its mature form in the 13th century during the Song Dynasty.

Early forms of Chinese drama are simple; but over time they incorporated various art forms; such as music; song and dance; martial arts; acrobatics; as well as literary art forms to become Chinese opera.

There are numerous regional branches of Chinese opera; including the Beijing opera; Shaoxing opera; Cantonese opera and kunqu and Lvju.