This research project discusses the mutual influence between Chinese musicals and traditional Chinese operas in modern China, analyzing their integration, conflicts, and communication in terms of form, technique, and aesthetics. 

In China, as an imported art form, the concept of musicals is very similar to the definition of traditional Chinese operas, which "tell stories through singing and dancing". Therefore, in the development process of original Chinese musicals, they have been highly associated with traditional Chinese operas, including imitating the narrative structure of Chinese operas in scripts, incorporating Chinese opera music elements in the composition, and adopting Chinese opera performance style in acting and dancing. From simple splicing to natural integration, they gradually achieve two aesthetic constructions: "belonging to musicals" and "belonging to China". 

On the other hand, traditional Chinese operas, in the process of modernization and innovation, learn from Western art forms such as musicals, absorbing elements of musicals in music and stage technology. They have also gone through a difficult exploration under the cultural differences between the East and the West, from excessive imitation to selective absorption. 

Both explorations are still ongoing, as are discussions about "what is Chinese musical theater" and "what is Chinese opera". They jointly reflect the era's demands for the localization of foreign art and the modernization of traditional art in the development of Chinese art.