BeijingJune 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 18, 2026, the sixth edition of “The Wine Flag, the Drum, and the Tianqiao Market” grandly opened at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. As a core component of this year’s event, the themed forum “Breaking Barriers, Coexisting: A New Vision for Urban Cultural Tourism Driven by Performing Arts IPs” was held that afternoon at the Tianqiao No. 9 Experimental Theater. The forum brought together industry leaders, performing arts creators, cultural tourism operations experts, and platform representatives to explore methodologies and practical pathways for leveraging performing arts IPs to empower the deep integration of culture, commerce, and tourism.
This forum was hosted by Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Theater Management Co., Ltd., co-organized by the Immersive Cultural Tourism Industry Committee of the China Cultural Industry Association, and supported by The Beijing News. Liu Kezhi, President of the China Association of Performing Arts; Mao Xiaogang, Party Secretary and President of The Beijing News; and Yin Yixin, Party Secretary and Chairman of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Investment Group and Chairman of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Theater Management Co., Ltd., attended and delivered speeches. Relevant leaders from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Xicheng District Bureau of Culture and Tourism, along with representatives from the cultural tourism industries of Guangxi, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, also participated in the event.
[Breaking Barriers, Coexisting: Reconstructing a New Urban Cultural Tourism Landscape with Performing Arts IPs]
In his opening address, Liu Kezhi, President of the China Association of Performing Arts, pointed out that the Tianqiao Performing Arts District is a vital carrier of the capital’s cultural center function and a core area for building Beijing as the “Capital of Performing Arts.” Currently, the national “15th Five-Year Plan” explicitly proposes deepening the integration of commerce, tourism, sports, culture, and health, and creating new immersive consumption scenarios. The performance industry is facing unprecedented policy opportunities. However, he also emphasized that traditional theaters still face growth bottlenecks, with the predicament of “leaving immediately after the show” remaining widespread. He called on the industry to embrace the courage to “break barriers” and the wisdom to “coexist,” using high-quality IPs as leverage to forge a new pattern of integrated cultural, commercial, and tourism development, allowing performances to step out of theaters and enabling culture to empower cities.
In his opening speech, Mao Xiaogang, Party Secretary and President of The Beijing News, stated that “breaking barriers and coexisting” means dismantling three walls: the physical boundaries of theaters, industry barriers, and urban boundaries. This transforms performing arts IPs from isolated entities into an ecosystem that grows together with urban spaces, local culture, and consumption scenarios. He believes that contemporary audiences are no longer satisfied with merely “watching a show”; they aspire to enter a scene and experience a lifestyle. Theaters are becoming the “living rooms” of urban culture and the “connectors” for cultural tourism consumption.
Yin Yixin, Party Secretary and Chairman of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Investment Group and Chairman of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Theater Management Co., Ltd., stated in his speech that Tianqiao carries a century-old memory of performing arts. Currently, the theater industry faces the challenge of how to allow the energy of performances to break through the stage and radiate into urban spaces. The collaboration with Guangxi, leveraging the Beijing premiere of the original musical “The Black Flag Command” as an opportunity to initiate a north-south linkage practice, is an active exploration of this proposition. He pointed out that Beijing, as the national cultural center, is fully committed to building the “Capital of Performing Arts.” The Tianqiao Performing Arts District, a cultural landmark on the Central Axis, is dedicated to fostering a high-quality artistic ecology and promoting deep connections between content, commerce, and tourism. Meanwhile, Guangxi boasts rich historical heritage and unique ethnic customs. The handshake between the two cities, prompted by a single play, represents not just the “going out” of a production but a two-way flow of cultural resources, tourist traffic, and commercial consumption. He expressed hope that through the intellectual exchange at this forum, actionable and replicable ideas and solutions could be found, using theater as a bridge, culture to enrich the city, and tourism to invigorate industry, collectively writing a new chapter of “traveling to a city for a single play.”
[Keynote Speeches: In-Depth Analysis from Methodology to Practical Cases]
During the keynote speech session, five guests from the front lines of performing arts creation, operations, commerce, and platforms shared the underlying logic and practical experience of how performing arts IPs drive urban cultural tourism from multiple perspectives.
Bu Xiting, Master’s Supervisor at the School of Cultural Industries Management, Communication University of China, and Chair of the Immersive Cultural Tourism Industry Committee of the China Cultural Industry Association, delivered a speech titled “From ‘Watching a Play’ to ‘Entering a City’: Immersive Creation for Deep Integration of Culture, Commerce, and Tourism.” He systematically elaborated on four implementation pathways for “breaking barriers and coexisting”—breaking the physical boundaries of theaters, breaking industry boundaries, breaking urban boundaries, and achieving co-creation and sharing. He also proposed a “three ins, three outs” consumer flow model, providing a systematic methodology for transforming theaters from single performance spaces into super connectors for culture, commerce, and tourism.
Zheng Juan, Party Secretary and Chairwoman of Guangxi Cultural Industry Group, used the original musical “The Black Flag Command” as a case study to share “Heroic Courage, Eternal Song: The Creative Aspirations of the Musical ‘The Black Flag Command’.” The play is based on the late Qing Dynasty general Liu Yongfu and his Black Flag Army, incorporating Guangxi intangible cultural heritage elements such as Zhuang folk songs, Guilin rap, Zhuang opera, and puppet tunes to showcase patriotic sentiments and regional culture. Zheng Juan stated that this play is not only an artistic presentation but also a vehicle for making Liuzhou visible. The musical “The Black Flag Command” premiered nationally on the evening of June 18 at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center.
Liu Yuan, Chairwoman of Shaanxi Daqin Performing Arts Operations Co., Ltd., shared the successful experience of “The Mighty Qin.” Since its premiere on September 27, 2024, the show has been performed over 870 times, attracting 1.2 million viewers, with an average attendance rate consistently remaining at 95%. She explained that the play focuses on the letters home of an ordinary soldier named “Heifu,” reflecting the currents of the era through an individual’s fate. Through six years of meticulous refinement, a custom-built theater, precise audience targeting, and cross-industry collaborations, the geographically remote theater has been transformed into an independent cultural destination.
Kang Qingfeng, Chairman of Pingyao Impression Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd., used “Impression Pingyao” as an example to share the industrialization practice of transitioning from “passing through” to “coexisting locally.” Since its inception in 2013, the show has received over 6.7 million visitors, with box office revenue exceeding 1.2 billion yuan. In March 2025, it was selected as a UNESCO exemplary case for “Protecting and Promoting Cultural Diversity in the Digital Environment,” becoming the only performing arts project from China to be chosen. He emphasized that performing arts products should define content based on the audience, with location being a strategic choice. Only by truly understanding the underlying motivations of users can one create high-quality works that transcend time.
Gao Bowen, Head of Operations for Douyin Life Services and Film & Performance Operations, shared platform data and operational strategies. In 2025, the number of merchants registered on Douyin increased by 80% year-on-year, with 9.12 million small and medium-sized merchant stores active, and the average transaction volume per chain store increased by 1.5 times year-on-year. Through a dual-engine distribution mechanism of “information recommendation + search,” the platform achieves a full-chain closed loop from seeding, ticket purchasing, to redemption, making performances a super traffic gateway for urban consumption.
[Roundtable Dialogue: Focusing on Long-Term Operational Strategies for Cultural, Commercial, and Tourism Integration]
Following the keynote speeches, the forum moved into a roundtable dialogue session themed “Long-Term Operational Strategies for Cultural, Commercial, and Tourism Integration.” Five guests—Wang Qinan, Dean of the Northern Performing Arts Immersive Creation and Design Center & Immersive Cultural Tourism Research Institute; Mo Yuqing, Party Leadership Group Member and Deputy Director of the Liuzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism; Zhang Zhen, General Manager of Shenzhen Media Group Gude Media Co., Ltd. and Head of the Music and Musical Theater Industry Center at the National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shenzhen); Meng Yunyun, Founder of Beijing Chuju Chuntian Management Company; and Yang Shucong, Vice President of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Investment Group and General Manager of Beijing Tianqiao Shengshi Theater Management Co., Ltd.—engaged in an in-depth dialogue on core issues such as traffic conversion bottlenecks, embedding urban DNA, scene integration and balance, and regional linkages.
The guests believed that performing arts IPs are evolving from single performances into urban ecosystem nodes integrating “content + space + consumption + emotion.” Cross-regional cooperation has become a trend, with “north-south linkage” representing not just content output but also the complementarity of cultural resources and market capabilities. Changes in user behavior are driving content innovation, with younger generations seeking a “sense of gain” and “emotional value,” shifting narrative perspectives from grand history to individual destinies. To achieve long-term operations, industry barriers must be broken, and a new, open, and symbiotic urban cultural consumption ecosystem must be built with systematic thinking. The five guests also offered practical advice and sincere messages, providing actionable ideas for peers in the industry.
[Using Theater as a Bridge: Opening a New Chapter in North-South Cultural Tourism Linkage]
This forum was a core component of the sixth “The Wine Flag, the Drum, and the Tianqiao Market.” At 7:00 PM that evening, the “Wine Flag and Drum” Beijing-Guangxi Twin City Market opened with a gong ceremony on the cultural inner street of the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, featuring distinctive cultural and creative products, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, and local specialties from both Beijing and Guangxi, attracting many visitors. At 7:30 PM, the Guangxi original musical “The Black Flag Command” officially premiered at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center’s Medium Theater, marking the debut of this epic tale of Guangxi heroes on the national stage.
“Traveling to a city for a single play” — this is not just a beautiful vision but a viable path being proven. Leveraging the Beijing premiere of the Guangxi original musical “The Black Flag Command” as a fulcrum, this forum brought together forces from creation, operations, commerce, and platforms, providing a replicable and scalable practical model for how performing arts IPs can drive the integration of urban culture and tourism. In the future, as more high-quality performing arts IPs flow across cities and take root locally, the vision of “one play enriching a city” will take hold in more cities, continuously injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry.