China's COVID-19 restrictions hit historic Beijing theater

BEIJING (AP) — Performances have been suspended at one of Beijing’s oldest and most renowned theaters as part of a new wave of shop and restaurant closures in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the Chinese capital.

The Jixiang Theater in the downtown Wangfujing shopping district was originally built in 1906 and recently moved to its present location on the 8th floor of a shopping mall that also houses shops and a fast food restaurant. It is famed for performances of Peking opera and other traditional art forms.

Performances were due to resume Nov. 27, but such dates for re-opening have frequently been extended.

China reported 24,263 new cases Saturday, 515 of them in Beijing. The vast majority were asymptomatic.