Storytelling that combines singing and reciting while beating drum is very popular in Beijing and Tianjin of northern China. Upon hearing the words of Guqu (drumbeat lyrics), people usually relate it to vaudeville. After the Republic of China (1912-1949) collapsed, houses for Guqu performances mushroomed and enriched the variety and contents of performances by staging different types of art programs such as Xiangsheng (comic dialogue), double-reed performance, magic and acrobatics.

In the past, vaudeville houses in Beijing launched different special performances to cater to audiences with different tastes. A performance containing 10 types of vaudevilles was called Puchang (general performance), while a performance containing just one type of programs was called Zhuanchang (special performance).

At that time, the most famous programs included the Civilized Conjuring by Kuaishou Liu, Diabolo Spinning by Wang Kui and cross-talk Xiangsheng by Chang Lian'an and Xiao Mogu.

Starting from the end of 1940s, special performances of songs became prevalent. During these performances, audiences can order any song according to the songbook Dadi Selected New Songs. Around the 1950s, Xinhuayuan Theatre even staged Guqu, magic and acrobatics together with singing of pop songs.