This chapter introduces Mei Lanfang, the preeminent Peking opera artist whose pioneering reforms and American tour transformed the global perception of Chinese traditional drama. Tracing his artistic journey, this chapter highlights Mei's fusion of tradition and innovation and his role in shaping the aesthetics and diplomacy of Chinese opera. It also offers a critical literature review, identifying gaps in existing scholarship on Mei's 1930 U.S. visit, including the lack of micro-level American perspectives and comprehensive archival research. Lastly, it outlines the book's new contributions, which draw on underexplored primary sources, grounded theory, para-textual and marginal studies, and the conceptual framework of inculturation and people-to-people diplomacy. This chapter positions Mei's American tour as both a cultual milestone and a case study of reimaging transpacific cultural exchange, offering new insights the transnational impact of Chinese performance art.