While Hou Hsiao-hsien's City of Sadness was bringing tears the eyes of Taiwan audiences, so too was To Live, by the mainland director Chang Yimou. At the same time that the Minghua Garden Taiwanese opera company was riding a wave of popularity across the island, Peking opera from Beijing, Sichuan bianlian dramas and western Hunanese tan dramas were all playing to enthusiastic audiences at the National Theater in Taipei.
在侯孝賢的《悲情城市》令觀眾掩面嘆息時，張藝謀的《活著》同樣勾起很多台灣人的熱淚；在明華園歌仔戲團風靡全省的時候，來自北京的京劇、四川變臉、黔西儺劇，也一樣在國家劇院爆出滿堂彩。