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The 13th Guangdong Art Festival to open Next Tuesday

The 13th Guangdong Art Festival will be held in Guangzhou, Dongguan and Jiangmen from Nov. 14 to 28, featuring 79 plays and 107 shows, with specially discounted ticket prices. Here are the highlights of the festival:

Stage photo of Musical “Xian Xinghai”

A great variety of plays

During the festival, 79 plays will be staged , among which 30 plays will form part of a competition, and the remainder invited from home and abroad to be staged at the festival. The performances are wide ranging encompassing Cantonese opera, Chaoshan opera, Guangdong Han opera, Mountain Song opera, Leizhou opera, Xiqin opera, so called Tea Picking opera, Peking opera, drama, dance drama, musicals, puppet show, modern dance and concert.

2017 Guangdong Dance Festival

As part of the 13th Guangdong Art Festival, the 2017 Guangdong Dance Festival will invite outstanding modern dance troupes based locally to put on 19 performances. The dance festival will be held on Nov. 24-30 mainly at the Guangdong Performing Arts Theater in Guangzhou. The festival will also hold three free shows at the Guangdong Culture Center on the afternoons of Nov. 25-27. A photographic exhibition of the 25th anniversary of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company will take place at the Guangdong Culture Center during the festival.

Stage photo of Cantonese opera “The Returning of Hung Sin-nui”

2017 Guangdong Theater Showcase

The showcase consists of 12 plays, 40 shows and 2 symposiums. Since 2017 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Chinese modern drama, Chinese dramatists from home and abroad will be invited to jointly hold a symposium to talk about the current situation and prospects of Chinese modern drama.


A combined photo of Ersha Island Outdoor Concert Season on Oct. 28.

Ersha Island Outdoor Concert Season

Orchestral, folk, jazz, pop, chamber music and more... starting from the end of Oct. Ersha Island is temporarily transformed into Guangzhou’s premiere outdoor music venue. The 2017 Ersha Island Outdoor Concert Season presents ten weekend concerts in a row on Ersha Island from 4:00-5:20 pm every Saturday or Sunday afternoon from Oct. 28 to Dec. 30. As usual, the 2017 Ersha Island Outdoor Concert Season is open to the public for free. A total of 1000 seats will be placed inside the venue.

Guangdong Museum of Art

Exhibition of outstanding artworks

A total of 311 works will be displayed at the Guangdong Museum of Art, including Chinese paintings, oil paintings, woodblock prints, sculptures, mixed media works, and watercolours. Among the 311 artworks, 185 have been created by artists in over the past three years, and the other 126 have been specially provided by well-known artists in the province.

Press conference of the 13th Guangdong Art Festival.

Low ticket prices

The tickets for the 13th Guangdong Art Festival range in price from the lowest at only RMB 30, with the highest no more than RMB 220. The festival is also cooperating with the Guangzhou Federation of Trade Unions to give out free tickets to the disadvantaged and union members. The Ersha Island Outdoor Concert Season and the art exhibition at the Guangdong Museum of Art are also open to the public for free.


Stage photo of Puppet show “Dolphin Beibei”

Internet broadcast

During the festival, people can also watch this year’s festival online via livestream, including the Nanfang Plus APP, fanxing.kugou.com, and www.wycn.com. So, even if you can’t snap up a ticket or aren’t in Guangzhou, you still can enjoy this festival.

Stage photo of Cantonese opera “Fisherwomen”

Lingnan characteristics

Many of the plays at the festival talk about local conditions, customs and culture in Guangdong. A Cantonese opera about fisherwomen shows the culture and tradition of fishermen in the Pearl River. A drama presented by Shantou Drama Troupe tells the stories of overseas Chinese and their love and help for hometown. A Hakka Mountain Song opera depicts the history and spiritual world of the Hakka people.

Poster of Teatro Delusion by Familie Flöz

Plays from other provinces and abroad

Guangdong Art Festival presents not only local culture and arts, but also performances from other provinces and abroad. The Heilongjiang Peking Opera Theater will put on a traditional Peking Opera piece, Peking Opera Theatre of Jiangsu Performing Arts Group will stage a Peking Opera piece about Macao, a Belarus theater group will present Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull, and Germany’s Familie Flöz will perform a fantasy mask mime.

About Guangdong Art Festival

The three yearly Guangdong Art Festival was established in 1984 by the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province. It is a professional art festival of the highest level in Guangdong and the longest history in China. Over the past 30-something years, Guangdong Art Festival has been successfully held on 12 occasions. It is now an important platform for local artists’ creations, local people’s appreciation of art and promotion of the development of the culture and art industries.


Schedule of Theatre Performances of the 13th Guangdong Art Festival


How to get there:

Friendship Theater (友谊剧院)

Add.: No. 696 Renmin North Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州市越秀区人民北路696号)

Bus: Take Bus No. 5, 7, 8, 31, 38, 42, etc and get off at Renmin North Road

Nearby Metro Station: Exit A of Guangzhou Railway Station, Line 2 or 5

Guangdong Performing Arts Theater (广东省演艺中心大剧院)

Add.: No. 1229 Guangzhou Avenue Middle, Tianhe District, Guangzhou (广州市天河区广州大道中1229号)

Nearby metro station: Exit A, Shaheding, Line 6

Bus station: Guangzhou Sport University (广州体院)

Xinghai Concert Hall (星海音乐厅)

Add.: No.33, Qingbo Road, Ersha Island, Dongshan District (广州市二沙岛晴波路33号)

Bus: Take bus No. 12, 57, 89, 131B, 131A, 194 or B21, get off at Xinghai Concert Hall or Ersha West, and walk towards Qingbo Road

Nanfang Theater (南方剧院)

Add.: No. 80 Jiaoyu Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州市越秀区教育路80号)

Nearby metro station: Gongyuanqian, Line 1 or 2

Guangdong Opera Art Theater (广东粤剧艺术中心)

Add.: No. 703 Dongfeng East Road, Guangzhou (广州市东风东路703号)

Nearby Metro Station: Exit B2 of Ouzhuang station, Line 5 or 6

Guangdong Song & Dance Ensemble Theater (广东歌舞剧院小剧场)

Add.: No. 34 Shuiyin Fourth Cross Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou (广州市天河区水荫四横路34号)

Nearby Metro Station: Exit A, Sheheding, Line 6

Dongguan Civil Art Center (东莞市市民艺术中心)

Add.: No. 6 Hongfu West Road, Wanjiang District, Dongguan (东莞市万江区鸿福西路6号)

Jiangmen Performing Arts Center (江门演艺中心)

Add.: No. 1 Yanjiang Road, Jianghai District, Jiangmen (江门市江海区沿江路1号)

(Author: Monica Liu; Editor: Simon Haywood)


Schedule of Theatre Performances of the 13th Guangdong Art Festival

(Chinese Version)

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