A folk artist performs a traditional face-changing stunt for foreign students at the Chongqing Hotpot Museum and Restaurant. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]

Face-changing fan

It was a lucky day for Ali Hassan. The Egyptian got the opportunity to perform with a local facing-changing master at the Chongqing Hotpot Museum and Restaurant.

"Finally, Master Wang agreed to give me some guidance in the future," he said.

Face-changing is a closely-kept secret movement in Sichuan Opera where a character, by quick manipulation of a mask, literally changes the face they show to the audience in a split-second.

It is the most eye-catching artistic technique that shapes a character's personality in the opera - an exquisite theatrical form that dates back 300 years.

According to tradition, the skill can only be passed to males within the family. Therefore, a foreigner such as Hassan would not be able to find a teacher in China.

"I failed to find someone to teach me. I have learned the techniques by watching the videos," he said.

Hassan, 24, studied linguistics at Southwest University since 2013 and he is about to graduate this summer. When he was a child, he watched a movie about face-changing and decided to learn it.

"It was my dream to learn the skill and I realized it in Chongqing," he said.

Hassan will leave Chongqing this summer to continue his studies in New York.

"I will keep polishing my facing-changing techniques and introduce this ancient Chinese art to more people," he said.