Apart from joining theory classes, Lou spends his time practicing. His legs have become sore and swollen in just days and they ache when he walks.

Even as some of his peers gave up under pressure, Lou pressed on.

Stages were not that fancy when he first stepped onto them. In 2003, he joined Zhejiang Wuju Opera Troupe, where he gradually became a renowned performer.

"Even when you become a mature performer, you have to think about how to improve your performance because the audience has higher expectations," he says.

In the 1990s, entertainment options were sparse, but that has all changed, meaning that Wuju Opera is under pressure to do more to attract audiences-for example, making storylines more interesting. Some operas used to last many hours, but to appeal to shorter attention spans, a more digestible two and half hours is now considered acceptable.