Amidst the golden autumn, the artistic landscape flourishes with vibrant vitality in splendid Sichuan, the land of abundance.

On October 16, the highly anticipated 14th China Art Festival will open in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The selection of Sichuan to host this cultural and artistic extravaganza is a powerful recognition of the province's flourishing arts scene in recent years. It also represents a significant opportunity for Sichuan to further integrate cultural and tourism resources and drive the high-quality development in the arts.

From the steady output of high-quality artistic works to the popular trend of "Travel with the Show", and from institutional reforms that have reinvigorated troupes to the rise of innovative "art plus" business models, Sichuan is writing a remarkable new chapter for the arts in the new era with high morale and vision.

Excellence in Artistic Creation Reaches New Heights

High-quality artistic productions stand as a powerful testament to a region's cultural strength. In recent years, Sichuan has consistently adhered to a people-centered approach to artistic creation, prioritizing the production of high-quality works as its core mission. This has propelled the transition from quantitative accumulation to a qualitative leap in artistic production, presenting an outstanding "Sichuan Answer Sheet" to the nation.

A Blossoming of Arts, an Emergence of Excellence. The magic show "Encounter" won the 12th China Acrobatics Golden Chrysanthemum Awards Competition, while Zeng Lian, a performer from the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Quyi, received the performance award at the 13th Chinese Folk Art "Peony Award". The spoken drama "Su Dongpo", submitted by the Sichuan People's Art Theatre, was selected for the 8th National Excellent Stage Play Exhibition. Three works from the theatre, including the one-act play "Dear King Lear" and the short sketch "Spring Breeze Blows Anew", were chosen for the inaugural National Short Play and Sketch Exhibition. Three other works, including the Sichuan Yangqin performance "The Shu Roads", were selected for the 3rd National Outstanding Quyi, Puppetry, and Shadow Play Exhibition. Acrobatic pieces, including "Handstand–Nezha", were featured in the 12th China Acrobatics Exhibition, while "Taiji · Rhythm of the Jar" was selected as a key supported work under the 2024 China Acrobatic Art Innovation Project. Playwright Zeng Haoyue was also named among the mentors and supported artists in the 2025 "Nurturing Performance through Artists" program, part of the National Stage Art Outstanding Creation Support Plan.

Upholding Fundamental Principles and Breaking New Ground to Scale New Heights. In the first half of 2025, Sichuan's artistic productions achieved remarkable recognition across national platforms. Sichuan Opera "Face-Changing", spoken drama "Who's Knocking at the Door", excerpts from traditional operas, Qingyin performances, and dance works were successively selected for the 4th National Traditional Chinese Opera (Southern Region) Showcase, National Top Ten Cases of Outstanding Repertory Revitalization, the 19th China Theater Festival, the Exhibition of Outstanding Performances from National Outstanding Quyi Troupes, and the China National Arts Fund Outstanding Dance Program Exhibition. The "Art Night Bus: Youth Night School" project of the Chengdu Art Museum has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as an Outstanding Public Education Project among National Art Museums. In 2025, a total of 37 projects from Sichuan were selected for funding under the China National Arts Fund.

In the highly anticipated 18th Wenhua Award selection, Sichuan has made it to the final review with six works: the Sichuan Opera "A Dream Reunion with Dongpo", the dance drama "Chen Shou: Records of the Three Kingdoms", the spoken drama "Who's Knocking at the Door", the song "Jade Plate", the group dance "Tenderness Like Water", and the magic show "Encounter". This achievement not only marks a quantitative increase but also a comprehensive breakthrough in artistic genres, with stage forms such as Sichuan Opera, dance drama, and spoken drama advancing together with performance genres like song, dance, and magic, fully demonstrating the overall strength and diverse appeal of Sichuan's artistic creation.

As the 14th China Art Festival approaches, these outstanding works will take the national stage, showcasing the unique charm of Ba-Shu culture to audiences across the country.

New Horizons in Culture-Tourism Integration

"After I watched the Sichuan opera 'A Dream Reunion with Dongpo', I visited the San Su Shrine Museum. I found this travel model of 'sightseeing by day, performances by night' absolutely fantastic!" Tourists raved about such integrated cultural and tourism experiences.

In recent years, leveraging its rich cultural and tourism resources, Sichuan has deepened the implementation of its "Culture &Tourism +" and "+ Culture &Tourism" strategies. By fostering in-depth integration between the arts and travel, the province has popularized the trend of "Travel with the Show", injecting new vitality into cultural tourism consumption.

Branded events serve as a key catalyst for culture-tourism integration. Sichuan has held the Sichuan Opera Performance Exhibition for three consecutive years, inviting all state-owned and private Sichuan Opera troupes, as well as professional academies across the province, to showcase exemplary productions. The event has consistently attracted widespread attention from tourists and opera enthusiasts alike. To further expand the influence of Sichuan Opera, the province has also pioneered innovative new media promotion campaigns, including the micro-documentary series "The Sichuan Opera of China", short-form videos, and the "2024 Sichuan Opera in Douyin" initiative. Through in-depth collaboration with central media outlets, these efforts have achieved over 30 million online and offline views, enabling this traditional art form to "break through" to new audiences.

In terms of tourism-performance offerings, Sichuan has continuously introduced greater diversity in content and innovation in form. During the 2024 Spring Festival period, the Sichuan Opera Troupe's "Peony, A Symbol of Cultural Essence: Sichuan Opera Show" staged 90 performances in 15 days, demonstrating remarkable popularity. Furthermore, the immersive cultural tourism production "Torrent · Family", created by the Sichuan People's Art Theatre, held a residency at Chengdu's Shaocheng Theatre, allowing audiences to experience the charm of literary classics through immersive storytelling. Meanwhile, cultural outreach initiatives such as the "Daily Performances" and "Non-Stop Theatrical Delights" online broadcasts, alongside the "Culture Train · Heart-to-Art Troupe" community tours, have become regular offerings. These programs not only enrich public cultural life but also infuse the tourism market with a richer artistic ambiance.

The deep integration of "Culture &Tourism + All Industries" and "All Industries + Culture &Tourism" continues to give rise to new cultural-tourism consumption scenarios in Sichuan. The Sichuan Opera Troupe's production "Journey to the Ancient Shu Frontier", which innovatively blends traditional face-changing art with modern street dance, has attracted significant attention since its debut. The digital cultural and creative product "Sichuan Opera Masks: A Thousand Faces, A Hundred Shows", developed by the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Arts (Sichuan Provincial Archives of Arts), saw its entire collection of 8,000 copies sell out within just 16 minutes of its release. Cities such as Chengdu, Zigong, and Luzhou have leveraged Sichuan Opera performance and exhibition venues to establish several distinctive experience halls dedicated to the art form, while cultural and creative products inspired by the art have also proven highly popular among tourists. Cultural venues and blocks, such as the Sichuan Opera Art Park at "Yi Yuan Garden Art Museum · Shuyuan Garden" and Shuyun Garden in Kuanzhai Alleys in Chengdu, have formed a complete industrial chain for Sichuan Opera culture, propelling the art from the stage to the marketplace.

Deepening Reform to Unleash Vitality

Performing arts troupes play a vital role in the creation of art. In recent years, Sichuan has deepened the reform of state-owned performing arts troupes by optimizing resource allocation, innovating operational mechanisms, and strengthening talent development. These measures have injected new dynamism into the troupes and established a solid framework supporting high-quality artistic development.

Regarding resource integration, Sichuan has actively promoted the optimization and restructuring of performing arts troupes. The newly established Sichuan Modern Song and Dance Theatre by Sichuan Tianfu Performance Art Industry Group has addressed the group's previous gap in owning performance venues but lacking dedicated troupes and regular repertoires, further strengthening Sichuan's performing arts market ecosystem. Meanwhile, local governments across the province have steadily increased support for performing arts troupes and strengthened grassroots artistic capacities, allowing the flowers of culture to bloom vibrantly at the primary level.

A series of important initiatives aimed at promoting fine traditional Chinese culture have been successively launched. Sichuan and Chongqing have collaborated on legislation to promote the inheritance and development of Sichuan Opera, establishing a solid legal foundation for its revival. This legislative effort codifies successful preservation and development practices into local law, building a broad social consensus around "carrying forward fine traditional Chinese culture and enhancing confidence in our culture". As focus on opera heritage grows, a cohort of highly skilled leaders and emerging artists—distinguished by their comprehensive artistry and professional excellence—has risen to prominence.

Sichuan is currently home to 28 representative inheritors of Sichuan Opera, who have been honored at national or provincial levels for their role in preserving this intangible cultural heritage. Among them, 23 are recipients of the Chinese Theatre Award–Plum Performance Award, and four are part of the National Leading Talent Training Program for Opera Performers. Additionally, Sichuan Opera productions have won the national "Five One Project" Award five times. In 2024, six individuals were selected for the Advanced Training Program for Peking Opera Creation Talents of the 10th China Peking Opera Art Festival, while four were chosen to participate in the 2024-2025 Chinese Opera Audio-Video Recording Project as performers (with their respective productions). Simultaneously, three university-level inheritance (exhibition) bases and 45 primary and secondary school Sichuan Opera learning and promotion centers have been established across the province, creating hubs for cultivating Sichuan Opera talents in the new era and driving the art form to thrive with continuous excellence and widespread reach.

The Grand Event Unveils a New Chapter

The hosting of the 14th China Art Festival has brought new opportunities for the development of Sichuan's cultural and artistic endeavors. As the host, Sichuan is making comprehensive preparations with high standards and practical measures, striving to present a distinctive, high-quality, and impactful festival. Seizing this opportunity, the province aims to elevate the high-quality development of its cultural and artistic sector to new heights.

During the festival, Sichuan will present a concentrated showcase of its abundant achievements in artistic creation over recent years. The Sichuan Opera "A Dream Reunion with Dongpo", the dance drama "Chen Shou: Records of the Three Kingdoms", the spoken drama "Who's Knocking at the Door", the song "Jade Plate", the group dance "Tenderness Like Water", and the magic show "Encounter" will take the stage, competing and exchanging with outstanding artistic works from across the nation. Simultaneously, Sichuan will launch a series of cultural events infused with Ba-Shu regional characteristics, in line with the unique features of local culture, thus enabling audiences nationwide to experience the distinct charm of Sichuan's culture.

Sichuan will use the art festival as a bridge to further advance the development of "performance + tourism". Centering on the art festival, Sichuan has launched multiple premium "Travel with the Show" itineraries that connect festival venues with nearby tourist attractions and cultural sites. This allows visitors to enjoy both high-quality performances and the natural scenery and cultural richness of "Splendid Sichuan, Land of Abundance", thereby upgrading the cultural tourism consumption.

From the new blossoms on the ancient tree of Sichuan Opera to the "hundred flowers blooming together" across diverse art forms, from the innovative practices in culture-tourism integration to the burst of vitality generated from institutional reforms in troupes, Sichuan's cultural and artistic sector is now embracing unprecedented development opportunities. The hosting of the 14th China Art Festival will mark a new starting point for the high-quality development of arts in Sichuan. Sichuan will continue to advance the creation of high-quality artistic works, deepen the integration of culture and tourism, and strengthen talent development, striving to establish a "Sichuan Model" for artistic development in the new era and contribute its artistic strength to building a province that is strong in culture and tourism.