Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei has born witness to many evening performances of Cantonese opera, performed nightly on the sidewalks as darkness envelops the district.
In Chinese, "Cantonese opera" is known as yuet kek. The recent establishment of specialty Cantonese opera teahouses along the street has literally got the entertainment form off the streets and into the shops.
These teahouses are special in the way that they provide tea and opera tunes. While in the past these tunes could only be heard at the stalls on the kerb of the street, bringing regular performances into proper venues is a relatively new innovation.
There are now nine such teahouses in Hong Kong. Gam Ngok Fu is one of the oldest, having been founded in 1950.
Miss Chan Sau Ying, nicknamed Sun Kim Fai, is one of the owners and organisers of Gam Ngok Fu. She has been singing Cantonese opera tunes for 40 years.
"Running a Cantonese opera troupe now is more difficult than before. In the past, we performed in restaurants on request and therefore did not have to pay rent; all we needed to do was to share some of the earnings with the restaurant," she said.
"Now, we have to pay about $40,000 per month _ and that's only the rent. There are other expenses as well, such as payroll for the singers and the musicians.
"It is therefore rather difficult for a modest group to perform in bigger venues because of the high rent and the management cost. It will cost us about $20,000 a day if we perform in concert halls like the City Hall."
Running into the red is probably one of the main headaches for Cantonese opera enthusiasts. Running into the cold, meanwhile, has posed a more injurious problem for the whole opera scene.
Dr. Leung Pui Kam, lecturer in the Department of Chinese at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the popularity of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong is on a downward spiral.
"Cantonese opera was very popular in the past because there were very few choices of entertainment. Now, there are far more choices such as television, radio, karaoke, foreign music and so on.
"But this doesn't mean that Cantonese opera will necessarily disappear. If we treasure and preserve the culture properly, its splendour can be continued. The Nor of Japan is a case in point," said Dr. Leung.
Dr. Wong Shiu Hon, a lecturer in the Department of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong, admitted that the popularity of Cantonese opera has decreased drastically when compared with the situation in the 1920s and '30s.
Despite the drop in popularity, he found that, what Cantonese opera lost in terms of public approval, it regained in terms of prestige.
"Cantonese opera is being treated as an art. It has become an academic as well as a research subject now," said Dr. Wong.
He said that the decrease in enthusiasm of the art from the new generation should not be attributed solely to the increase in choices of amusement.
"Cantonese opera is unpopular to the young because the lyrics are rather difficult to understand.
"The themes are not contemporary enough and may prove to be out of touch with culture nowadays.
"Moreover, a Cantonese opera lasts for about three to four hours. It may be too lengthy for youngsters."
Dr. Leung said that there should be plans to promote Cantonese opera among the young, including children.
"We can organize Cantonese opera groups for children. Television programmes and cartoons about Cantonese opera can be produced. We should let children decide whether or not they are interested in Cantonese opera, instead of making a hasty assumption that Cantonese opera will not be of interest to kids.
"If only one child out of 10 likes Cantonese opera, the picture of Cantonese opera will be more promising," Dr. Leung said.
Actually, the Tuen Mun Arts Promotion Association has been making efforts to promote Cantonese opera among children for many years.
Mr. Kwan Kam Lun, executive secretary of the association, said, "In order to preserve Cantonese opera and prevent it from extinction, we have been organising Cantonese opera classes for children since 1979.
"The public response is satisfactory. There are more than 15 people attending the class every Sunday.
"The class is financially supported by the Tuen Mun District Board, so it costs only $90 for three months. It is not a lucrative business but we will continue to run the class as long as there are participants," Mr. Kwan said.
Dr. Leung said the art form will not die out just because of its dwindling popularity.
"Because Cantonese opera has become an academic research subject, its lifespan in terms of time can be continued for a long period of time," he explained. Many researchers have chosen to study Cantonese opera for their theses.
"This, in a way, enables the vertical development of Cantonese opera _ our offspring can still get to know what Cantonese opera is about through these articles.
"Meanwhile, the horizontal development can be strengthened by the promotion of the culture. For example, the Regional Council has pledged $620 million for the establishment of a cultural museum in Sha Tin. Part of the space will be allocated for the exhibition of Cantonese opera paraphernalia."
Dr. Wong expressed initial worries, but efforts from the government and other organisations soothed his fears.
"It is very good that the government and some organizations are willing to dedicate efforts to promote Cantonese opera to the general public. Indeed, Cantonese opera is something new for youngsters. Some of my students are very interested in it.
"I think that if the length of Cantonese opera can be cut shorter, it will be more popular. Generally, I am very optimistic about its future," said Dr. Wong.
Dr. Leung said, "I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the future of Cantonese opera. I am not optimistic in that a large proportion of youngsters still do not have much interest in Cantonese opera. Besides, the competition with other entertainment, and the lack of outstanding artists, are other worries.
"On the other hand, the picture is not extremely gloomy because, with the approach of 1997, the lifestyle of Hong Kong people will become more nationalistic. So I expect that unique regional culture, including Cantonese opera, will be increasingly emphasized by Guangdong people.
"Anyway, one thing is sure _ Cantonese opera is entering its cycle of revival now. I hope that it can save itself from declining, thus creating another pinnacle for itself," said Dr. Leung.
On the back streets of Yau Ma Tei, strains of Cantonese opera arias remain, despite the divided opinions among the organisers themselves.
In spite of her investments of money and labour, Miss Sun sees a bleak future for Cantonese opera.
"I am not very optimistic about the scene. But I am not frustrated about it because making a profit is not my primary concern.
"I take Cantonese opera as my hobby and I enjoy just sharing it with fellow opera lovers," said Miss Sun.
However, her colleague, Mr. Tam Nga Man, is hopeful.
"Cantonese opera music did suffer a bit when the Western pop music scene came in. However, its popularity has revived recently.
"Cantonese opera has its value of existence in both Hong Kong and Macau. I believe that it will eventually transmit flashes of light," Mr. Tam concluded.