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the best season of the year in beijing, the 8th china opera culture week will be held as scheduled. from september 27 to october 3, famous troupes and artists will gather again in beijing garden expo park. on september 12, reporters learned from the press conference of the beijing municipal party committee and municipal government that this year's opera week will not only select plays with high standards, have a compact performance schedule, and have wonderful content, but will also be held at the same time as the "beijing lantern festival". the two are deeply integrated, the lanterns in the park are rich in opera elements, and the night opera performances are more charming, bringing unprecedented cultural and tourism experience to citizens.

excellent dramas collide with rare dramas

this year's opera week is themed "chinese dream, chinese soul, opera love", including "liyuan boutique", "liyuan carnival" and "liyuan opera", and consists of 12 major theme activities, including the opening ceremony, boutique drama exhibition, beijing-tianjin-hebei master gathering, local drama performance, drama development academic salon, drama (art) industry expo, drama amateur competition, drama club performance, and opera culture reception room. there are not only professional performances and academic seminars, but also rich mass interactive experience activities, as well as derivative content such as industrial exchanges and cultural tourism consumption, which fully and multi-angle show the high level and wide coverage of opera week as a national cultural activity. among them, the opening ceremony, as the "appearance" event of this opera week, will be kicked off at the sunshine theater of the garden expo park. at that time, wang rongrong, du zhenjie, wang hongling, wang ping and other national masters will present their "good plays" to the audience, and selections of excellent works such as "daughter of the party", "long wind sets a new voyage", "ten sisters of miyun" and "rainbow of tibet" will be staged.

at the same time, focusing on the 75th anniversary of the founding of new china, on the basis of the previous "local garden local opera", professional opera resources from all over the country were selected to be exhibited in beijing, and boutique opera exhibitions were held in chang'an grand theater, mei lanfang grand theater, tianqiao theater, etc., and a series of performances of beijing-tianjin-hebei famous artists were held in the sunshine theater of the garden expo park. among them, a total of 10 plays were selected for the newly established "boutique opera exhibition". among them, revolutionary themes such as "in the prime of life", "ten sisters of miyun", and "little soldier zhang ga" inherit the red gene and pay tribute to the revolutionary martyrs; new historical themes such as "double embroidery fate", "princess jincheng", and "magnificent youth" shape historical figures and promote national spirit; realistic themes such as "qi baishi" and "tuina" go deep into people's lives and keep up with the pulse of the times; "da jinzhi" and "wanghai tower" and other traditional operas are sorted out and adapted to cultivate the soul and keep the integrity and innovation. these plays showcase the latest achievements of opera creation in the new era. during the entire opera week, 48 national troupes will present nearly 100 performances, bringing together classics from famous artists and achieving a comprehensive improvement in the quality of professional opera performances.

at the same time, representative local operas and rare operas are invited to perform in beijing, which not only expands the national radiation range, but also focuses on inviting counterpart support and cooperation regions to build a platform for the dissemination and display of rare local operas and precious national operas. by then, 56 local operas including shanxi shangdang luozi, shandong liangjiaxian, shaanxi xianbanqiang, guangxi luer opera, inner mongolia manhan opera, yunnan yi opera, guizhou anshun di opera, hunan changsha huagu opera, anhui huai opera, jiangsu xi opera, gansu qinqiang and so on will be continuously performed in jinzhong garden, lingnan garden, yijiangnan and min garden.

opera and lantern festival flourish together

the "liyuan carnival" section uses ginkgo avenue as a link to connect a variety of opera activities. opera club performances, amateur competitions, liyuan market and interactive experiences are in full bloom. the chinese opera amateur competition brings together amateurs from all over the world, and is divided into categories such as peking opera, kunqu opera and local operas. adults and children compete on the same stage. overseas amateurs can also participate through exclusive channels to share the charm of opera art that transcends national boundaries. in zunyi park and xi'an park, student clubs and amateur opera fans perform classic plays every day, showing the vigorous vitality of opera among the people. the liyuan market is spread along ginkgo avenue, integrating opera elements with fashionable life, integrating camping, coffee, national trends and other diversified business formats, creating an immersive opera culture experience space for tourists.

in addition, the "cultural tourism guide" event invites local operas and cultural tourism products from all over the country to appear, allowing tourists to appreciate the regional customs through opera. opera interactive experience activities are spread throughout the park, and tourists can participate in person to experience opera makeup, costumes, etc., so that every participant can get close to opera and feel its unique charm. after the main event, there will also be activities such as opera entering campuses and communities, so that more young people and community residents can understand and fall in love with opera, and sow the seeds of hope for the inheritance and development of opera art.

at the same time, this opera week coincides with the national day. in the festive atmosphere of "welcoming the 75th anniversary of the founding of new china" across the country, the "beijing lantern festival" will be held at the same place in the garden expo park. at that time, the two major cultural events will bloom in the same time and space. this is not only a cultural feast, but also a unique experience of the spiritual and cultural life of the general public. the opera week and the lantern festival have achieved a deep integration of "seeing the scenery in the reincarnation of mountains and rivers, and singing life in the scenery". in every corner of the opera week, you can find the clever integration of the lantern festival. many lamp groups rich in opera elements, either vividly reproduce the scenes of classic repertoires, or cleverly integrate the characteristic elements of opera masks, costumes, etc. into the art of lighting, so that tourists can feel the unique charm of the night lantern festival in advance when visiting the opera week during the day. when night falls, these lamp groups will become a bridge connecting opera and lantern festivals, leading tourists to shuttle between reality and dreams of opera.

academic salon and industry expo are two highlights

in addition, a series of carefully planned academic salons and seminars around the "experience of chinese opera development" will be launched at the same time. nearly 100 elites from provincial cultural and tourism departments, research institutions, troupes and universities across the country gathered together. among them are policy makers, theoretical explorers, and practical leaders. such a lineup ensures the breadth and depth of the dialogue, aiming to comprehensively analyze the current status and challenges of opera development, especially the problems and difficulties faced by the overall development of opera in various provinces, and explore the outstanding problems and solutions in the development of opera. the event will focus on the unique development experience and practical paths of local operas, as well as core issues such as how to achieve the diversified development of operas. through the keynote speeches of expert representatives and exchanges and discussions among participants, it is hoped that sparks of thought will be generated, providing new ideas and directions for the orderly inheritance and effective development of operas.

at the same time, the china opera (art) industry expo, which debuted this year, is a bold attempt to explore the deep integration of opera culture and multiple formats. opera (art)-related enterprises from provincial administrative regions across the country will be invited across provinces to showcase local cultural and tourism projects and products. through the innovative model of "exhibition + transaction", a comprehensive platform for cultural and tourism industry exhibitions, negotiations, transactions, and innovative research and development incubation will be built. it is worth mentioning that the interactive exhibition areas such as the "experience workshop" set up on site will allow the audience to experience the charm of opera culture and feel the perfect fusion of tradition and modernity. this participatory and immersive experience method can not only enhance the public's interest and recognition in opera culture, but also open up new ways for the dissemination and promotion of opera culture.

all daytime performances in beijing garden expo park during this opera week are free of charge and open to the public. there is no threshold to participate in the activities, so that more people have the opportunity to experience the unique charm of opera art up close. in order to facilitate tourists to experience this opera feast in depth, the organizers have planned personalized tour routes such as "immersive performance" and "opera paradise". whether you are a senior opera fan or a family tourist who is keen on parent-child interaction, you can find your own fun in these routes.

photo courtesy of fengtai district media integration center

text/beijing youth daily reporter guo jia

editor/qiao ying