On October 14, in an interview regarding the upcoming 29th Provincial Drama Festival, Chen Yin, director of the Arts Division at the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, stated, “This year’s event will feature a total of 35 major plays and 2 smaller productions.”
As a region rich in traditional Chinese opera, Fujian is home to 23 actively inherited local opera forms, including 18 native genres and 5 that cross provincial boundaries. Additionally, there are 5 types of shadow and puppet theater, showcasing a vibrant variety of dramatic arts.
The 9th Fujian Arts Festival is set to take place from October 21 to November 15. This year’s festival will include main events as well as various regional activities, highlighting a range of art forms such as drama, acrobatics, and folk arts. The principal activities will be hosted in Fuzhou, featuring an opening and closing ceremony, professional art performances, and community cultural events across six series.
Among the professional activities, the 29th Provincial Drama Festival and the 6th Provincial Music, Dance, Acrobatics, and Folk Arts Excellent Program Showcase will spotlight a selection of 37 and 15 performances, respectively. These will be accompanied by discussions and lectures, along with special exchange performances.
During the 29th Provincial Drama Festival, 14 genres will compete, including Minnan Opera, Puxian Opera, Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, and Xianzi Opera (also known as Xiang Opera). The event will also feature string puppetry, hand puppetry, and stage plays. Notably, endangered genres such as Liyuan Opera, Sipin Opera, Sanjiao Opera, Meilin Opera, and Mountain Songs will participate, with Chen emphasizing the commitment to a “triple approach” in operatic creation, balancing modern works, newly adapted historical dramas, and traditional theater adaptations.
The 6th Provincial Music, Dance, Acrobatics, and Folk Arts Excellent Program Showcase will highlight 15 performances, reflecting the diverse artistic disciplines present across Fujian. Chen believes this demonstrates the province’s ongoing commitment to maintaining its stronghold in Chinese opera while promoting balanced growth across various art forms, making it a fertile ground for operas, musicals, and dance dramas.
Wang Xinbin, deputy director of the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, pointed out that the arts festival serves as an opportunity to creatively connect and deeply integrate various elements of Fujian’s culture and landscapes. The department has planned tourism products like “Traveling Through Fujian with Opera,” aiming to elevate the tourism experience by enhancing cultural depth and quality while promoting the consumption and dissemination of cultural arts. This showcases Fujian’s rich heritage and breathtaking landscapes, reinforcing the “Starting Point of the Maritime Silk Road, Fresh Fujian” brand.
