Chinese Opera was once upon a time a major form of entertainment for Singaporeans. Different dialects had their own troops. Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese troops were engaged by different temples in different villages for “receiving” and ‘"sending off” their gods on important festival such as the Seventh Month Ghost festival. Before TV big crowds would look forward to learning the stories. These days just a handful of people sit and watch. The few troops that are left are much older. It is a dying trade