Ancient melodies meet modern audiences at Prince Kung's Palace Museum

As China prepares to mark this year's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, Prince Kung's Palace Museum is presenting its annual intangible cultural heritage performance season in Beijing from June 9 to 14.

Hosted by the museum under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and organized by the China Kunqu and Guqin Research Association, the event has become one of the country's most recognized platforms for showcasing and promoting intangible cultural heritage.

This year's program brings together three Chinese art forms inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Kunqu Opera, guqin music and Nanyin, an ancient musical tradition originating in Fujian province. The six-day event features three guqin concerts, three Kunqu performances and, for the first time, a special program pairing guqin and Nanyin on the same stage. All performances will take place in the historical opera house within the former royal residence.

The guqin section is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of China's first nationwide survey of guqin traditions.

Conducted in 1956, the project systematically documented guqin masters and their repertoires, preserving valuable audio recordings and helping safeguard a musical tradition long passed down through personal instruction.

The concerts will feature nationally recognized inheritors of intangible cultural heritage alongside leading contemporary performers. Audiences will hear celebrated classical works such as Three Variations on the Plum Blossom and Forgetfulness Amid Gulls and Herons.

The event also continues its emphasis on academic transmission. A team of teachers and students led by professor Zhao Jiazhen of the Central Conservatory of Music will perform representative pieces from major guqin schools, demonstrating increasingly systematic approaches to preserving and teaching the art.

One of the festival's highlights is a new program bringing together guqin and Nanyin, two traditions often described as "living fossils" of Chinese music.

While the guqin has long been associated with China's literati culture, Nanyin preserves musical elements believed to trace back to traditions of the Han and Tang dynasties (206 BC-AD 907). Both are valued for their historical depth, refined aesthetics and cultural significance.

The special performance will feature renowned guqin musicians alongside artists from the Quanzhou Nanyin Inheritance Center. Through works sharing common themes and cultural roots, organizers hope to highlight connections between two of China's oldest musical traditions.

The Kunqu program coincides with the 25th anniversary of the genre's inscription on UNESCO's heritage list in 2001. Widely regarded as one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera, Kunqu has had a profound influence on later theatrical traditions.

The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre will re-create selections from the performances presented during China's UNESCO nomination campaign in 2001, including scenes from The Peony Pavilion and Water Margin. The Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe will perform classic excerpts from its repertoire.

A distinctive feature of this year's program is the participation of young performers from primary-school Kunqu classes in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, the birthplace of Kunqu. Appearing alongside professional artists, they aim to showcase the full chain of transmission, from classroom education and talent development to professional performance.

Over its 18 editions, the performance season has brought together leading performing groups and artists from across the country while promoting public appreciation of traditional culture.

Performance schedules and visitor information are available through the museum's official channels, according to organizers.