China Focus: Live performance boom a boon for cultural, tourism consumption

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Li Xiaoxue, an avid follower of live shows in 30s, still feels elated and exultant thanks to a hip-hop performance she watched last December.

"The live vibe was very exhilarating, and the signing session, where the audience had face-to-face interactions with the singers, was super exciting!" said Li, who works at an overseas study training institution in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Li told Xinhua that she usually goes to a live house performance every two months. Sometimes she opts for gigs in nearby cities such as Shanghai and Suzhou to support her favorite singers and bands.

Live house, a type of music performance that is usually held in confined spaces and focuses more on on-site interactions, has captured an increasing number of young Chinese in recent years.

Moreover, a variety of performing arts shows, including large-scale music performances, dramas and some vanguard performances have seen a surge in popularity. This has become particularly evident following the post-COVID recovery of China's live performance sector.

Statistics disclosed by the China Association of Performing Arts in January show that a total of 488,400 commercial performances were staged in 2024, generating nearly 58 billion yuan (about 8 billion U.S. dollars) in ticket revenue.

The sector is also off to a good start this year. Between Jan. 1 and 17, 2025, ticket revenue of various performances nationwide had reached 481 million yuan, according to online ticketing platform Beacon.

Analysts say the live performance industry is experiencing a growth spurt and has become a new driver of cultural and tourism consumption.

Last June, Li celebrated her 30th birthday by watching a concert featuring her pop music icon Jay Chou in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. In addition to attending the spectacle, she also spent four days exploring this popular tourist destination.

"I visited some scenic spots and tried spicy specialties in Changsha. It was a fancy birthday gift," Li said, revealing that her concert and travel costs amounted to around 3,000 yuan.

The magnet effect of live performance is considerable in terms of stimulating consumption. The Changsha concert attended by Li had attracted more than 130,000 visitors from outside the city -- directly resulting in tourism consumption totaling 518 million yuan, according to local tourism authority.

A consultancy firm in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou predicted that China's performance market value would exceed 96 billion yuan in 2025.

China has moved to tap into the surging live performance economy. The State Council, China's cabinet, released a set of policy measures aiming at "fostering new growth drivers and boosting cultural and tourism consumption" in January, requiring improvement in live performances and other entertainment activities.

Local governments also rolled out moves such as reducing or exempting rental costs for venues, issuing consumption subsidies and coupons, and green-lighting applications for such activities.

With an expanding audience and warming industrial environment, new types of live performances have emerged to meet people's rising demands, such as talk and magic shows, which are accessible in both major and small cities in China.

"It can be seen that our audience's cultural consumption has been rapidly increasing," a manager of a theater in Xicheng District of Beijing said. He added that the live performance market features a greater diversity of arts and a deeper blend with tourism.

Inevitably, however, not all performances and venues have drawn praise, with some complaints seen on social media platforms about unreasonable ticket price and cancellation with no reason.

In response, Luo Zibai, an expert with China Tourism Academy, has called on organizers to properly evaluate the capacity of host sites and improve their management.

Performing arts reflect people's lifestyles, Luo said, while adding that "a performance lasts for a short time, but people's pursuits of life aesthetics and leisure experiences last long." ■