On December 22^nd, the NCPA will launch the Open Day Arts Festival in celebration of its 18^th anniversary. Themed “Eighteen and Rising: A Fresh Start in the Artistic Journey”, this year’s Arts Festival will take place at all the three locations of the NCPA - the NCPA, Beijing Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) and NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre. From performances of classics to interaction with frontier technology, and from inheritance of intangible cultural heritage to stage performances starring young artists, the Arts Festival boasts clear themes and distinctive characteristics. More than 100 exciting activities will be carried out in response to the basic tenet - “art is for the people”. The visitors will be invited to embrace youth and feel the warmth of art in an immersive atmosphere.

On December 12^th, ZHAO Haiying, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and Director Level Official of the NCPA, shared with the media the overall schedule for the NCPA 18^th Anniversary Open Day Arts Festival at the press conference. The press conference was also attended by artist representatives and audience representative, including SONG Yuanming, a soprano who stars in the NCPA’s production of Lehár’s operetta Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), ZHANG Jianfeng, who heads the bill in the new historical Peking opera YAN Zhenqing, a co-production of the NCPA and Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing, LAI Jiajing, Resident Conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra, and LYU Kedi, a dancer at the NCPA BDA Youth Dance Troupe. They shared the stories that had taken place behind the scenes at the NCPA, with the conference hosted by LIU Beibei, a member of the NCPA Drama Ensemble.

The NCPA Takes a New Look on its 18^th Anniversary

ZHAO Haiying, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and Director Level Official of the NCPA, introduced that over the past 18 years, famous artists and ensembles from China and abroad have given a total of more than 15000 commercial performances at the NCPA. The NCPA has produced 119 works, making NCPA Production a golden signboard. Every year, the NCPA organises over a thousand activities for art popularisation and education, in order that elegant art may enter every household. The NCPA has set up a bridge for artistic exchange, reaching good cooperation with thousands of Chinese and foreign art institutions. Each year, an audience of over one million steps into the NCPA, making it a veritable arts centre belonging to the people.

 

In 2025, the NCPA has exerted a significant influence as a multi-functional platform, a platform for the performing arts, for themed artistic creativity, for art popularization and education, for comprehensive art exhibition, for cultural communication and cooperation, and for online cultural promotion. About 1400 performances are put on at the three locations of the NCPA throughout the year, with Chinese and foreign artists, as well as the world’s top art ensembles, gracing all its stages. The NCPA has launched a total of 24 NCPA productions, seven of which, including Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty, The Red Sorghum and Railway Guerrilla, demonstrate its creative vitality. The NCPA remains steadfast in its commitment to serving the people with art. To this end, it organises Weekend Concert, Aesthetic Education—NCPA Youth Arts Festival and other events all year round. A total of nearly 40 exhibitions themed on fine arts, sculpture and other genres of art have been held at the three locations of the NCPA, with diverse spaces created for visitors to appreciate the arts.

In terms of international exchange, by taking the World Association for Performing Arts (WAPA) as a bridge, the NCPA successfully hosted the 2025 Beijing Forum for Symphonic Music, making it easy for NCPA Orchestra and Chorus to go on tour overseas. Remarkable results have been yielded in the fusion of art and technology, with over 320 online performances given and watched by an audience of nearly seven billion within five years. The NCPA has creatively launched “NCPA Live”, by which excellent stage art is streamed live to more than a hundred cinemas and theatres nationwide. The NCPA Operetta Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) will be the first to go global through “NCPA Live”, showing the world the artistic charm and technical strength of the Chinese stage.

At the press conference, ZHAO Haiying, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and Director Level Official of the NCPA, detailed the highlights of this year's Arts Festival and extended invitations to the attending guests for the festival on December 22^nd.

As the main venue of the Arts Festival, the NCPA will stay firm under the theme of “Eighteen and Rising: A Fresh Start in the Artistic Journey” to achieve a deep fusion of classic art presentation and modern technological innovation.

There are brilliant performances at multiple theatres. Two art films, LIN Zexu and Maria, will be screened to show visitors the great charm of the drama and opera arts. The China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus and Beijing Symphony Orchestra will give wonderful concerts to share the national sentiment and the spirit of the times. Furthermore, the Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing will hold a concert of classic arias, and Huai Opera highlights from Jiangsu will be presented on the stage, to meet the artistic needs of visitors of all ages.

The surprises presented in the public space are worth anticipating. Robots will give several amusing performances, the dance drama Railway Guerrilla will be staged in form of a flash mob, and classic songs will be sung as a medley. Also, more songs and dances, which are intangible cultural heritages, will be performed at the copper gate to attract more visitors. Literary and artistic celebrities, including YANG Lan, FENG Yuan, Siqing Lu, PU Cunxin, XIONG Zhaozheng and GONG Linna, will come on the scene for sharing, for album release and for autographed copy sale. They will meet the visitors face to face. Besides, “art + technology” events, such as AI travel photography on MagicScreen and Blessing from Heaven, a digital drama themed on cultural relics, will also be presented to form a delightful contrast to attract visitors and amaze them by showing them how technology empowers art.

Theme exhibitions and characteristic markets offer diverse experiences. Visitors will see how an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage does the traditional craft with ingenuity. They will also engage in interactions at a characteristic market like “Intangible Cultural Heritage & Time-Honoured Brands” or “Museology & Cultural Creativity”. Art consumption will thus become easy to accept for them. A series of theme exhibitions, including Cloisonné: A Legacy in Blue Rzeimagined and Art Reinvented—NCPA Digital Artworks Exhibition, will be held simultaneously, with tour guide service rendered regularly to help visitors further appreciate the charm of art.

At 19:30 that evening, a special programme about the 18^th Anniversary of the NCPA will be broadcast on the NCPA Classical Channel and several Internet platforms to review the wonderful moments captured on the Open Day, so as to warmly present the splendour of the Arts Festival online.

The BPAC will celebrate its second anniversary on December 22^nd. The Strikeast Percussion Ensemble will play passionate music to kick off the event. Art films La Traviata and LIN Zexu will be staged at the Opera House. Famous musician SHEN Fanxiu will share insights about the pipe organ at the Concert Hall. The Chamber Trio, Percussion Ensemble and Beijing Traditional Folk Arts Troupe take the stage to show the charm of multiple arts. Stage techniques will be put on display at the Multi-functional Theatre to unveil the behind-the-scenes, while a Steinway piano will be played automatically in the lobby of the Concert Hall. “2025: My Journey with BPAC” Memorial Exhibition will be held to evoke emotional resonance. Students from Tongzhou district will give a performance to showcase the vitality of cultural heritage, while sculpture exhibitions and ballet photography exhibitions will take place throughout the space. Art and life can be combined together amazingly in the cultural and creative area when there is a theme restaurant.

The NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre will turn into an unprecedented fully-open professional space where an evening performance will be held. This unprecedented performance will begin with songs and dances of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Interactive activities, such as VR stage scenery, personalised makeup, costume-making class and prop-making workshop, will show visitors what usually happens behind the scenes. Featured handicrafts will be available in the intangible cultural heritage area and cultural & creative area, and local snacks in the food court, making visitors able to enjoy themselves everywhere in the space. Besides, visitors will immerse themselves in a stage setting while appreciating costumes and interacting deeply with the drama Suspect Sherlock Holmes in the “Second Exhibition Area” at the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Museum.

On its 18^th anniversary, the NCPA will not only hold the Open Day Arts Festival, but also carry out 80 featured events imbued with the Chinese spirit and contemporary ethos, including brilliant performances, at its three locations to thank the audience and society for their support and concern.