Immersive live drama injects vitality into tourism

Performers of See Pingyao Again on stage Photo: Courtesy of official weibo account of See Pingyao Again

 As night fell, accompanied by dazzling lights and emotive music, actors were performing a story depicting the faithfulness, loyalty and courage of local merchants at the foot of Pingyao, a renowned ancient town in North China's Shanxi Province. Following the performers, the audience shuttled between different performance scenes.

"The settings in the theater were intricately designed and the actors performed very well. I was deeply moved by the morality of Shanxi people as shown in the drama," said Song Ciyi, a student from Beijing who had just finished watching the performance. 

The immersive live drama See Pingyao Again, with a cast and crew of 300 members, has been performed for 10 years and has attracted more than 5 million viewers in total.

Kong Lingjuan, marketing manager of the local culture and tourism development company operating the drama, said the theater arranged five performances of this drama daily during the recent peak travel period, but tickets still proved hard to get.

"The drama not only tells the story of the history of Pingyao but has also become a new attraction for visitors," said Kong, adding that the performances had raked in some 8.3 million yuan ($1.2 million) in revenue during the eight-day holiday consisting of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day earlier this month.

According to a report released by the China Association of Performing Arts, the number of performances aimed at securing revenue in China in the first half of 2023 had reached 193,300 nationwide. Total ticket revenue skyrocketed by 673.49 percent year on year to 16.8 billion yuan.

Among the performances, immersive live dramas have proved very popular at tourist resorts. Apart from indoor dramas performed in theaters, outdoor dramas, which have integrated outdoor landscapes into the drama settings, are also popular.

Chen Hongjin, an official with the Bureau of Culture and Tourism of Pingyao county, said live stage shows have provided tourists with an immersive experience, boosting the development of the tourism industry.

"The pattern of 'tourism+performance' has not only injected vitality into China's performing arts economy, but also outlined the infinite possibilities for the integration of culture and tourism," she said.