Tong couldn't give up errenzhuan, and often hummed tunes of the art after his retirement. Two years ago, one of his friends helped him obtain a job as a ticket collector at the Qunzhong Cinema, a regular venue for errenzhuan performances. His monthly salary is 500 yuan ($66) plus free meals and lodging.

"Errenzhuan is an occupation for the young, not the old," says Tong. "I began to study and perform errenzhuan in 1953 because the countryside was too poor and because I liked it since childhood. Since 1965, I became the director of a local troupe and had many students. My monthly salary was 70 yuan, very high for that time."

Though Tong is not performing any more, he still likes to hang around with errenzhuan performers.

The errenzhuan performers at the Qunzhong Cinema mainly come from the countryside of Jilin, Tieling and Liaoyang of the region. The youngest performers, Dongdong and Panpan, are only 12 years old.