The 7th Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month is here!

At the press conference (photo by Zhang Dehao, intern reporter for China National Radio).

The year 2025 marks the 475th anniversary of Tang Xianzu’s birth. “This edition of the Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month will encompass seven distinct program components, aiming to create a comprehensive cultural event that brings together theatrical performances, academic exchanges, youth dialogues, film screenings, and more,” said Hu Jianfei, Deputy Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor. He added that the festival will feature an impressive lineup of distinguished artists and a succession of outstanding productions, offering rich and vibrant programming, and extended an open invitation to theatre enthusiasts worldwide: gather in Fuzhou this golden autumn for a grand celebration of drama and culture.

Hu Jianfei, Deputy Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, introduces the activities of this year’s Drama Exchange Month. (Photo by CGTN reporter Zhou Bei)

“The opening ceremony of the event will be anchored by the large-scale immersive live‑action production ‘In Search of Dreams in the Peony Pavilion,’ staged on a water‑borne platform, showcasing the dynamic transmission of Tang Xianzu’s dramatic legacy and the contemporary reinterpretation of traditional opera. By fostering an intercultural dialogue between classic Chinese and Western theatrical traditions, the event aims to create a grand gathering that combines cultural depth with broad outreach,” said Han Zhiyu, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

The opening ceremony is thoughtfully staged in Wenchangli Historical and Cultural District—the birthplace, creative hub, and final resting place of Tang Xianzu. Set against a backdrop of natural water features and landscaped gardens, the event breaks with conventional stage‑opening formats, weaving a dramatic narrative throughout the venue. Through a chapter‑by‑chapter storytelling centered on the theme of “Dreams Within the Play,” it progressively unfolds Tang Xianzu’s timeless classics, innovative operatic works, and cross‑cultural dialogues.

This deep integration not only showcases the unique charm of Wenchangli as a “living‑scene theater museum,” but also, through the combined reach of big‑screen and small‑screen platforms, elevates the immersive cultural‑tourism experience of “exploring Wenchangli District and watching ‘The Peony Pavilion’” to a national audience.

Throughout the entire exchange month, Wenchangli Historical and cultural heritage The district will seamlessly integrate curated performances, theater and film, themed cultural‑creative products, and distinctive business formats, extending theatrical culture from the stage to public squares and weaving the audience‑engagement experience into everyday life. In doing so, it aims to transform “Tang Xianzu” into a powerful cultural engine that drives the development of the local cultural‑tourism industry.

This year’s Tang Xianzu Drama Competition has achieved a historic breakthrough—marking the first time it has been elevated to the “Exhibition of Outstanding Local Small-Form Plays from the Yangtze River Basin,” thus moving from the “Jiangxi Showcase” to the “Yangtze River Basin Stage,” and from a “single‑event competition” to a “public‑benefit exhibition.”

“We have specially established a ‘Local Opera Public Performance Week,’ during which all participating productions will be presented to the public in a non‑profit format,” said Zhao Weiping, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles. She added that this initiative not only embodies the principle of “art for the people” but also provides valuable opportunities for troupes from across the region to exchange ideas and hone their craft.

According to statistics, throughout the month of cultural exchange, major theaters and cultural plazas in Fuzhou will stage more than 130 performances showcasing outstanding Chinese and foreign theatrical works. Citizens can enjoy premium productions such as “Mirror Flowers, Water Moon,” “Lychees from Chang’an,” and “Three Strikes Against the White Bone Demon” at subsidized ticket prices, and they can also watch, free of charge right on their doorstep, 15 acclaimed high‑tone operas and 30 exquisite short excerpts from 16 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country.

At the 2024 Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month, dance, song, traditional opera, instrumental music, and other art forms were seamlessly blended, offering the audience a feast for the senses. (Photo courtesy of the Fuzhou Municipal Media Center, China National Radio)

The “Chinese Opera Masters and Masterpieces Gala” will bring together numerous winners of China’s Plum Blossom Award, thoughtfully presenting beloved classic excerpts from a wide array of operatic traditions. Audiences will not only experience the pinnacle of opera artistry but also feel the warmth and profound depth of traditional culture.

When students at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom intone the lyrical verses of “The Peony Pavilion” in English, and when “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Story of the South Tree” converge on the same stage, the cross‑temporal dialogue between Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare gains a fresh, youthful resonance.

On October 25, the English-language production of “The Peony Pavilion,” staged by the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, will make its Chinese debut in Fuzhou, marking the first time the work has been presented in its complete form on an Asian stage.

“These performances will showcase the innovative interpretations of classic works by young artists from China and the United Kingdom, offering audiences a theatrical feast that transcends cultural boundaries and further broadening the reach of Tangshan culture,” said Tu Anbo, Executive Vice President of the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

It is reported that this “Tangsha’s Lingering Charm: A Youthful Dialogue” event has brought together emerging theatrical talents from more than a dozen Chinese and British universities. Faculty and student teams from institutions including the University of Leeds, Peking University, and the University of International Business and Economics will engage in in-depth exchanges through productions such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream—South of the Kuo River” and university‑adapted versions of “The Peony Pavilion.” The program also innovatively incorporates an immersive experience of Fuzhou’s intangible cultural heritage, extending theatrical dialogue beyond the stage to the very heart of local culture.

Even more anticipated is the cross-disciplinary play “Tangsha Hui,” co‑created by a renowned Kunqu artist and a British theater director, which seamlessly fuses Eastern impressionism with Western realism, offering an innovative interpretation of the principle of mutual learning among civilizations: “Each finds beauty in its own way, and all share in that beauty.”

“We will continue to uphold the legacy of Tang Xianzu’s opera culture, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of our fine traditional culture, and strive to build Fuzhou into a ‘City of Opera’—a ‘Chinese Capital of Drama’ where theater thrives within the city and the city is alive with theater,” said Hu Jianfei, Deputy Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor.

From Fuzhou to the world, from tradition to modernity, and from the theater to everyday life, this path of mutual learning among civilizations is growing ever wider. As the classic aria “How vibrant and colorful the blossoms once bloomed” resounds once again in Wenchangli during the golden autumn of October, the world will witness: drama breathes new life into civilizations through dialogue, and culture binds humanity ever more closely through exchange.

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Previous issues Exciting Review

Dreaming Back to the Peony Pavilion, Love Woven into Cultural‑Creative Heritage — The Tang Xianzu Cultural‑Creative Store Grandly Opens on October 1st

Event Information | Commemorating the Spirit of Lord Tang and Passing on the Torch of Culture — The Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall of Fuzhou City Travels to Suichang to Join in a Grand Cultural Event Across Three Provinces and Four Regions

Good News | Our museum’s docent, Yang Yunyun, won the second prize at the 4th Competition for Docents from Social Science Popularization Bases across Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities.

National Level-3 Museum

Chinese Qu Culture Education Base

Chinese Overseas International Culture Exchange Base

On-site Teaching Site of the Jinggangshan Cadre Academy of China

Jiangxi Province Patriotic Education Base

Jiangxi Provincial Base for Popularizing Social Sciences

Jiangxi Province Museum Demonstration Unit for Integrated Development

Jiangxi Province Primary and Secondary School Research-and-Practice Education Base

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