Macao will join efforts along with south China's Guangdong Province and Hong Kong to apply Yueju or Guangdong Opera for the world's oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity recognized by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO).

Fernando Chui Sai On, secretary for Social Affairs and Culture,said Thursday that the application agenda will be discussed at theArt and Culture Cooperation Summit of Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong, which is slated to be held in August.

The three neighboring areas in the Pearl River Delta Region share the cultural root.

Yueju, a folk opera in the south China region, first appeared in the Qing Dynasty (1644 -- 1911).

Thanks to the rich assortment of musical instruments employed, its varied tunes and its readiness to innovate, the opera has grown rapidly to become a major operatic form in Guangdong and Guangxi and also among overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia and America.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2003)