Poetry and Peking Opera take center stage at October festivals

China will host two major national festivals celebrating poetry and Peking Opera in October, bringing performances, discussions and public programs to Zhejiang and Hubei provinces.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the eighth China Poetry Festival will be held from Oct 12 to 23 in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, under the theme "Poetry Rises Between Mountains and Seas, Poetry in China".

The opening ceremony will take place on Oct 12 in Tiantai, while the closing ceremony is scheduled for Oct 23.

The festival will feature opening and closing performances, poetry seminars, field trips and creative activities, as well as a range of public cultural programs. Organizers say the event aims to be both a gathering for poetry and a festival for the public, bringing the art form into closer contact with everyday life.

The 11th China Peking Opera Festival will follow in Wuhan, Hubei province, from Oct 15 to Nov 5. The festival will open on Oct 15 with Hanyang Zao, an original production by the Hubei Peking Opera Theater. Based on the true history of the Hanyang arsenal rifle, the opera tells the story of how a gun was born, using the weapon's journey to reflect a century-long search for national strength — from awakening amid crisis to self-reliance and innovation.

The closing ceremony on Nov 5 will be held in Wuhan, featuring a newly created Peking Opera production by Wuhan Peking Opera Theater. The opera, Yuanyang Jian, set during the late Warring States Period (475-221 BC), follows childhood sweethearts Zhuo Qingmei and Zhuang Bairen, whose reunion amid war leads them from personal conflict to a renewed sense of duty to their country. The production blends traditional Peking Opera conventions with contemporary aesthetics, led by performers in female and male martial roles.

The festival will include seven major programs, ranging from performances of outstanding productions and small-theater works to traditional excerpts, productions by opera schools and colleges, theater reviews, seminars and a creative camp for young opera artists.

Twenty productions will be selected for the main performance program from adapted classics, acclaimed repertory works and newly created productions from across the country. Together, they will highlight the development of Peking Opera through three strands: traditional works, modern dramas and newly created historical plays.

Beyond theater venues, the festival will also bring Peking Opera into communities and tourist attractions through public performances. Exhibitions and screenings featuring Peking Opera-themed paintings, films and costumes will be held alongside cultural tourism activities exploring combinations of Peking Opera with other forms of cultural experiences.