When he dons his flowing robes and vivid makeup, Wu Yunhong is transformed from a laborer who toils on mountains under a beating sun into an evil general commanding an army of warriors.

Wu was raised in the Jinyuan Opera Company, co-founded by his grandfather in 1984. He started performing when he was only 8 years old and is the third generation to carry on the tradition - but may be the last.

With crowds aging and not too many shows to perform, the Sichuan-style opera staged around the municipality of Chongqing in Southwest China, is threatened with extinction - even as other traditional art forms flourish in the country.