The 2nd Yellow River Culture and Folk Art Week was held in Lanzhou, northwest China’s Gansu Province on Friday, attracting numerous tourists and locals.
The event featured 476 folk art performances from 12 cities along the Yellow River in 20 days.
Artists from 20 teams representing cities such as Lanzhou, Xining, Jinan, Zhengzhou and Hohhot will showcase local arts such as Taiping drum dance, Dunhuang dance, Shandong Qinshu and Mongolian long songs.
“We have enjoyed excellent performances from Taiyuan and Hohhot right on our doorstep. It is wonderful to watch these shows while admiring the beautiful scenery of the Yellow River. Many people enjoy the event very much,” said Chen Jing, a local resident.
Culture and Folk Art Week on the Yellow River in Lanzhou
This year’s summer movie season offered a rich offering, with comedies and several Chinese animated films that portray traditional culture through innovative storytelling standing out.
Data from online platforms indicate that the comedy “Successor” has grossed over 3.1 billion yuan (about 433 million U.S. dollars) at the box office through Saturday, making it the highest-grossing comedy of the summer film season in Chinese film history.
Starring well-known Chinese comedy actor Shen Teng and actress Ma Li, the film revolves around the lives of a wealthy couple who create a sophisticated environment for their son to encourage his personal development.
More than five comedies hit theaters this summer, all of which delivered impressive performances.
“It’s summer vacation, so I brought my child to watch ‘Successor,'” said viewer Ms. Ma, expressing her interest in comedies.
“Comedies have shown the best performance, grossing nearly 5 billion yuan (about $698 million) at the box office so far this summer, far surpassing the 2.7 billion yuan (about $377 million) earned in the same season last year and reaching a new seasonal high since 2018,” said Chen Jin, a film data analyst.
In addition, several animated films related to traditional culture, such as “Fall Into the Mortal World,” “The Umbrella Fairy,” and “White Snake: Afloat,” were also successful this summer in terms of both box office and audience response.
“In the process of rapprochement between contemporary animation films and traditional culture, in the light of current cultural and social development, new contemporary views and interpretation models are brought into film production, so that audiences can more easily accept the spirit, temperament and appearance of such traditional culture in modern times,” said Sun Chengjian, deputy director of the Film and Television Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts.
According to statistics, China’s total box office revenue (including advance sales) for this summer film season from June 1 to August 31 exceeded 10 billion yuan (about 1.40 billion U.S. dollars) as of 11:25 p.m. on Saturday.
Of the 138 films coming to theaters or scheduled for release this summer, “Successor,” the crime thriller “A Place Called Silence” and the drama “Moments We Shared” are the three highest-grossing films.
“Tickets for popular films are always almost sold out during weekend and evening screenings, so we need to increase the number of screenings, extend opening hours and offer various kinds of discounts to improve the cinema experience for our audiences,” said Shi Tao, an employee at a cinema in Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi Province.
At the end of August, more than 30 national and international films of different genres and themes are expected to hit cinemas to cater to the diverse preferences of the audience.
Comedies are big hits, traditional culture shines in Chinese animation films this summer
