Beijing will stage 398 performances at 50 venues around the city to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture announced at a press conference on Feb. 7.
In addition, local culture authorities will hold 480 celebration events including temple fairs, garden parties, flower parades, ice and snow cultural activities and public lectures. The city will also put on 28 ice and snow cultural activities to promote the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
A collection of traditional Chinese opera performances will kick off on the first day of the 2018 Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 16, at the Local Opera Performance Center in Beijing. Eleven traditional Chinese opera troupes from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, such as China National Peking Opera Company and the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, will bring their classic productions to wow Beijing audiences. The performances will be funded by the Beijing Cultural-Service-Platform of Theater Operation, a public welfare platform established by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture.
A number of famous foreign art troupes will bring their representative productions to Beijing audiences during Chinese New Year as well. The Russian State Ballet is scheduled to perform three ballet classics -- "The Sleeping Beauty," "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake" -- at Poly Theater. The National Center for the Performing Arts will stage five performances of the popular Irish traditional tap dance, "Celtic Legends." The Children's Ballet of Kiev from Ukraine will perform "Swan Lake" specifically for young audiences at the Beijing Exhibition Theater and the Beijing Theater.
Performances of traditional Chinese folk art forms are also a highlight of the activities. Renowned crosstalk comedians, including Li Jindou, Li Jianhua and Li Zengrui, will perform their hit sets at the Haidian Theater. Popular crosstalk troupes such as Deyunshe and Xihabaofupu will present more than 60 performances. Beijing Sun Park will present circus performances specifically to entertain children.
Beijing will also help to bring more residents out to the festivities by lowering the ticket prices. By taking on government subsidies, seven theaters in the city will sell discounted tickets for 41 performances of 23 shows, which include Peking Opera, folk music, symphonies, cross talk, dramas and shows for children. Moreover, 61 percent of the performances and activities will take place inside local communities, in an effort by the city to bring the Chinese New Year celebrations closer to home for Beijing residents.