There is a strong performing arts and musical culture in Jiangsu. This is particularly true for Chinese opera, with several variants of these operas originating in Jiangsu, including Kunqu and Huai. Taizhou is also the hometown of the most famous star of Chinese opera, Mei Lan Fang.

Jiangsu is also famous for music, and several of its songs are well known and loved across China. The folk song Beautiful Jasmine Flower is one of the best known and has been sung by many artists, including Song Zu Ying during her concert in Vienna, Austria. The following materials provide an interesting account of this famous song:

Melodies and tunes that travel across time and space are fascinating. In China, variants of the same tune can be found across the country, but a tune may also appear in a number of different guises within one area or region. Take the Jiangsu folk song Beautiful Jasmine Flower (also known as Jasmine Flower), one of the most popular of all Chinese folk songs. The “flower” has migrated within a region, across the country and also cross-pollinated around the world. We can find it in Puccini’s Turendot, Tan Dun’s Symphony 1997, in a numerous arrangements by Chinese and Western composers, and even a version by Kenny G. (http://www.danwei.org/music/the_jasmine_crossing_by_peter.php)

Kunqu, also known as Kunju, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest existing forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Kunqu boasts a 600-year history and is known as the "teacher" or "mother" of a 100 operas, because of its influence on other Chinese opera forms, including Peking opera. Its emergence ushered in the second Golden Era of Chinese drama, but by the early 20th century it had nearly disappeared.

One of the major literary forms of the Ming and Qing dynasties was chuanqi drama, originating from the South. Plays that continue to be famous today, including The Peony Pavilion and The Peach Blossom Fan, were originally written for the Kunqu stage. In addition, many classical Chinese novels and stories, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin and Journey to the Westwere adapted very early into dramatic pieces.

Today, Kunqu is performed professionally in seven Mainland Chinese cities: Beijing (Northern Kunqu Theatre), Shanghai (Shanghai Kunqu Theatre), Suzhou (Suzhou Kunqu Theatre), Nanjing (Jiangsu Province Kunqu Theatre), Chenzhou (Hunan Kunqu Theatre), Yongjia County/Wenzhou (Yongjia Kunqu Theatre) and Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province Kunqu Theatre), as well as in Taipei. Non-professional opera societies are active in many other cities in China and abroad, and opera companies occasionally tour.

Kunqu opera was listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001. Its melody or tune is one of the Four Great Characteristic Melodies in Chinese opera.

Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Peking opera artists in modern history. He was the first artist to spread Beijing Opera to foreign countries, participating in cultural exchanges with Japan, the United States, and other regions. He was known to have toured the world, forming friendships with the Western contemporaries of his day, including Charlie Chaplin. During his visit to Hollywood, he was also welcomed by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. After 1949, he served as director of China Beijing Opera Theater, director of the Chinese Opera Research Institute, and vice-chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Besides his autobiography, Forty Years of Life on the Stage, several of his articles and essays have been published in The Collected Works of Mei Lanfang. Recordings of his best-known performances have been published in A Selection of Beijing Operas Performed by Mei Lanfang. In 2000, the story of his life was filmed in a documentary entitled The Worlds of Mei Lanfang.

Huaiju opera is based on songs of farmers, legends and worship ballads from Jiangsu. The classic ones include "Legend of the White Snake" and "King of Western Chu.” Huaiju Opera dates back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Inspired by farmers' folk and worship ballads, Huaiju is rooted deeply in Chinese folk culture. Unlike Peking Opera and Yueju Opera, whose stories frequently focus on historical events or romance, household folk tales and legends are common in Huaiju Opera.

The Beauty of Taihu Lake is a very famous folk song belonging to Wuxi. It reflects the natural beauty of Lake Taihu and the people living around the lake.