Ji'an Tea Picking Opera is a popular folk opera in Ji'an City and its surrounding counties and districts. Performing with singing and dancing, humorous and witty language, rich and colorful content, rough and simple melodies, beautiful and graceful melodies, and easy to understand singing style, it has a strong sense of life and local customs, and is a folk art treasure rooted in urban and rural areas of Ji'an and loved by the people.

The Yongfeng Triangle Troupe was the prototype of the tea picking performance in Ji'an, formed during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The Triangle Class is a team composed of three characters: Xiao Sheng, Xiao Dan, and Xiao Chou. It has a small number of members, including musicians, and can be said to be seven tight, eight wide, and nine relaxed, making it suitable for performances in rural areas. Later, the Triangle Troupe absorbed and integrated the artistic forms and styles of Yihuang Opera and Huagu Opera, forming a larger performing troupe, similar to the "half troupe" of the Tea Picking Opera Troupe Society with half troupes in the Grand Theatre Troupe. The number of actors in the "half class" has increased, with a more comprehensive range of professions and the ability to perform large plays. Generally, there are more than twenty musicians and actors. "Half class" is gradually developing and becoming popular in Jishui County, Ji'an County, Xingan County, Taihe County, Wan'an County, as well as in areas such as Le'an, Ningdu, Gucheng, and Yudu. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the main schools of tea picking opera in Ji'an were formed, represented by the famous artist Benfa Shi (Yao Benfa) from Yongfeng County. At that time, there were over 110 types of melodies, more than 50 types of qupai, and more than 250 folk tea picking opera troupes.

The most distinctive performances of Ji'an Tea Picking Opera include Dwarf Step, Turning Step, Skirt Skill, Fan Skill, etc. Dwarf steps: There are three types of pile steps: high, medium, and short. Take a high stance, keep your upper body straight, swing your shoulders slightly, squat your knees slightly between 140 and 160 degrees, use your forefoot to land, hang your heels in the air, sway your hips naturally, with little radiance, and lift your steps evenly forward. In the mid stance step, on the basis of the high stance step, squat down with both knees between 100 and 120 degrees, so the swing amplitude of the buttocks is greater, and the swing amplitude of the shoulders is correspondingly increased. Short stance, squat your knees down to around 60 degrees, and use your toes to touch the ground when walking on a platform. Otherwise, you will roll backwards, and the swing of your hips and shoulders will increase accordingly. Turning step: It is one of the characteristic steps of the Ugly Performance, with the right foot slightly curved, the toes touching the ground, and the left foot stiff and not curved. When walking, the sole of the foot falls to the ground, forming a natural turning pattern. The entire performance requires a hunched back, bent feet, paralyzed hands (left hand), crooked mouth, and an unattractive appearance. Skirt technique: It is one of the distinctive steps in performing ugliness. When walking, the upper body is straight, both feet and soles are on the ground, and the left and right buttocks are rhythmically lifted back one by one. The abdomen opens and contracts one by one, and the skirt tied to the waist is also naturally and rhythmically lifted. This kind of martial arts is called "skirt technique". Fan skill: Chou and Dan use folding fans as props to create various patterns, including silk fan flowers, small step fan flowers, opposite holding fan flowers, collecting and adjusting fan flowers, single stage hanging fan flowers, single stage starting and adjusting fan flowers, high pile fan flowers, low pile fan flowers, collecting pile fan flowers, reverse holding fan flowers, etc.

The traditional music of Ji'an Tea Picking Opera is characterized by one play, one song, and the title of the song is the same as the name of the opera, such as "Maopeng Ji", "Biedian", "Yangmai", etc. If there are two or more melodies, they are divided into upper and lower tones, such as "Encouraging Husband to Adjust" and "Encouraging Husband to Adjust". The melodies are in a square shaped, symmetrical structure. In singing, a unified approach is used. If there are too many words, after finishing the rhyme, the board is checked and the last sentence is rhymed. In traditional singing, the use of a combination of genuine and fake voices fully reflects the musical characteristics of the Sanjiaoban.

Ji'an Tea Picking Opera has a rich variety of playing tunes, most of which come from Ji'an Opera and folk instrumental music tunes, such as "Crying for the Emperor", "Big Open Door", "Small Open Door", "Liu Qingniang", "Little Peach Blossom", "One Flower", "Chaotianzi", "Big Pendulum", etc., totaling more than 50 tunes, which can be selected according to the plot. In terms of accompaniment, there are two types: Wen Chang and Wu Chang. Wen Chang instruments include erhu, bamboo flute, sanxian, zhonghu, banhu, violin, etc. The martial arts instruments include large and small suona, hall drum, Han gong, small gong, noisy cymbal, banded drum, sound board, big drum, etc. Commonly used gongs include "Pai Gong", "Flip the Board Head", "Duo Tou", "Cry Jie", and "Naotai Gong and Drum".

The traditional old plays of Ji'an tea picking opera mostly reflect the production and labor, life interests, business operation, and love between men and women in rural areas. They have a strong flavor of life, simple, healthy, humorous, and full of local and human flavor.

During the revolutionary struggle in Jinggangshan, the Red Drama Society performed plays such as "Father and Son," "Great Release of Horses," "Unity of Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers," "Condolence to the Red Army Family," "Volunteer to Be a Red Army," and "Farewell to Brother Going Forward," which boosted the morale of the Red Army and boosted the revolutionary spirit.

In 1958, Ji'an tea picking dramas such as "Family Night Team" and "Mending Backstraps" participated in the provincial opera performances and won multiple awards. Records were also produced and distributed nationwide. In 1959, the tea picking skits "Fighting Birds" and "Mending Backstraps" were selected to perform in Lushan for the 8th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 1960, dramas such as "The People of Jinggangshan" went to multiple provinces and regions to offer condolences and performances. In 1964, plays such as "Spring Breeze for Thousands of Miles" toured the central and southern regions.

Since the reform and opening up, high-quality tea picking operas have emerged one after another in Ji'an. The "Far Mountain" created and performed in 1999, and the "Rural Judge" created and performed in 2002 have successively won the "Five One Projects" award for spiritual civilization construction in the 8th and 9th sessions of the Central Propaganda Department. In recent years, over 20 modern tea picking dramas, including "Jingtai", "Half Gate", "Half Gong", "After Thunderstorm", "Gousheng Banjiu", "Birthday Gift", "Hunting for Cattle", have also participated in provincial performances and received multiple awards. These realistic tea picking dramas, which are close to the masses, life, and reality, not only promote the main theme of the times, but also enrich the cultural life of the people.