"This year should be a golden period for Sichuan opera admissions in the past 10 years." On the eve of the new semester, Chen Zhilin, president of Sichuan Vocational College of Art, said. The Sichuan Opera major of the college has grown from 13 students to more than 250 students today.

"These children have already started to be active on the stage of Sichuan opera.”, he said. Last year, students staged the Legend of the White Snake in their graduation drama, which was praised by many insiders. Many Sichuan opera newcomers grew and changed in the province's youth Sichuan Opera actor competition. The students also participated in the project, a Sichuan opera selected as one of the national Stage Art Productions in 2020, and participated in the China Art Festival.

"Only by providing more fresh blood to the industry can Sichuan opera continue to develop vigorously for a long time." Chen Zhilin said he hoped he was a screw and could pursue his favorite career with gratitude.

Chen Zhilin, who didn't formally learn Sichuan opera until he was 15, was older than his peers. He got up an hour and a half earlier than others and went to bed an hour and a half late. This persistence made him grow up gradually and he fell in love with Sichuan opera.

"Looking back on my growing experience is both painful and happy. I hope that with my enthusiasm for Sichuan opera, I can make my own contribution to the excellent traditional culture." Chen Zhilin said.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the revival of Sichuan opera. Chen Zhilin revealed that they will perform the classic opera every weekend to provide audiences with a flesh-and - blood performance of Sichuan opera. They decided to revive traditional Sichuan operas, and launched Sichuan opera Dragon and Phoenix to celebrate the 20th CPC National Congress. They will also go to Jilin, Hubei, Shandong, Chongqing and other places to carry out performance, participating in drama festivals.

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Chen Zhilin is not only the president of Sichuan Vocational College ofArt, but also the president of Sichuan OperaTroupeand the chairman of Sichuan Federation of Arts and Literature, as well as the national inheritor of Sichuan Opera. This year, Chen Zhilin was shortlisted for 2021 "Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Person of the Year".