The 2025 Chinese Opera Festival, co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism along with the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, commenced on September 8 in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province.

Building on the legacy of past festivals that showcased traditional role types such as Sheng (male), Dan (female), Jing (painted face), and Chou (clown), this year’s focus is on martial arts theatre. The festival is currently in progress and is set to conclude on September 20.

Highlights of the Festival

The opening night featured martial arts excerpts performed by six acclaimed masters of Chinese opera, alongside 20 martial artists who will engage in ten collaborative performances throughout the event. These presentations emphasize both the preservation and innovation inherent in traditional Chinese opera.

Certificates were given during the opening ceremony to participants chosen for the 2025 National Leading Talent Development Programme for Chinese Opera, alongside accolades for institutions recognized between 2020 and 2024 for their Outstanding Opera Production Initiatives.

This year’s festival is anchored by five key programmes: opening and closing ceremonies, a national showcase of opera performers, invited performances from notable productions, opera symposia, and efforts aimed at preserving endangered forms of opera.

It also includes five extension programmes, featuring opera exchange activities, the Watch Opera, Visit Jiangsu cultural tourism initiative, a dedicated exhibition at the Chinese Opera Museum, a traditional opera cultural marketplace, and a digital promotion platform.

Over the festival period, a total of 39 performances will be presented, showcasing 107 productions from 53 ensembles, covering 31 distinct opera traditions. Events will be held at various venues, including traditional theatres, historic locations, museums, universities, and scenic sites, thereby providing audiences with rich cultural experiences.

Celebrating Seven Years

Kunshan, recognized as the birthplace of Kunqu Opera—the earliest form of Chinese opera—is holding this festival for the seventh consecutive year. A new three-year action plan has also been introduced to steer future developments. From 2018 to 2024, the festival has successfully showcased 348 genres of opera, including forms like puppetry and shadow theatre, bringing together 494 organizations that have hosted 295 performances featuring 606 excerpts, all while attracting record numbers of attendees both in person and online.