On the evening of October 16th, 2023, the auditorium of the Huaihua Municipal Party Committee was brightly lit with continuous applause. With the successful holding of the Closing and Award Ceremony of the Second Huaihua Art Festival, which lasted for six months and spanned summer and autumn, with the participation of thousands of people, the Second Huaihua Art Festival came to an end.
(The Closing and Award Ceremony of the 2nd Huaihua Art Festival showcased a variety of exciting programs. Photographed by Yang Zhiwei)
The art festival was wrapped with the charm of the Wuxi Rivers, warm and enthusiastic. The Second Huaihua Art Festival showcased over 500 original works, driving more than 1,300 mass cultural activities in Huaihua’s cities, counties, and rural areas.
The colorful performances, passionate faces, and insightful words vividly illustrated the profound connotation of “a grandeur of art and a festival of people”.
“City wide literary and artistic workers persisted in taking Xi Jinping’s cultural thought to consolidate the heart and cast the soul, and create excellent works that meet the needs of times and people, so that the Art Festival never ends,” added Jin Jianping, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Sports and Sports.
Ambitiously Surmount the Peak of Literature and Art
(On-site Performance at the Large-Scale Original Chenhe Drama “Sun Xuechen”
Photographed by Li Qingqing)
As hundreds of flowers compete for beauty, the beautiful songs stir up the Wuxi Rivers. The large-scale original Chenhe Drama “Sun Xuechen” was performed as the opening drama, including the Professional Stage Art Large Drama Award, Drama Award, Director Award, and Performance Award. This drama reproduces the scene of 700,000 children of Xupu in the 1970s, under the leadership of Comrade Sun Xuechen, the then County Party Secretary, overcoming unimaginable difficulties and building the Shenzihu Reservoir, which has benefited the present and the future. It fully demonstrates the vanguard and exemplary role of a Communist Party member in promoting the construction of various socialist undertakings and the image of being honest and serving the people. After the performance of the play, the response was enthusiastic, arousing a strong resonance of the times and emotions among the audience.
Professional stage art exhibitions and performances, with unique local characteristics such as “Da Jiao Zan”, “Unpaid County Magistrate”, “Pine Forest Competition”, “Pan Flower”, “Confession under the High Wall”, and “Spring Engagement”, as well as the original red ethnic song and dance drama “Dong Village Military and Civil Attachments”, showcased the beauty of traditional Chinese opera, making people addicted in the art.
(The Yang Opera Protection and Inheritance Center in Hecheng District of Huaihua contributed a small play called “Pan Flower”. Photographed by Li Qingqing)
Grandma Li, who watched all 8 scenes, excitedly said, “There have been generations of opera performers on stage who have persevered, and generations of audiences have been attracted to stop off stage. This is inheritance.”
At the same time, as the main section of this art festival, there are 42 original works such as music, dance, and small dramas (sketches) showcasing their beauty.
On this occasion, a total of 20 provincial expert judges and local literary and artistic creators were invited for face-to-face communication in the professional stage art exhibition and mass cultural stage art exhibition, which improved the creative level of Huaihua City.
“The leading singer of ‘Drunken Joy in Dong Village’ is great. This work has rich harmonious colors and a very good sense of music contrast. When strong, it is overwhelming, while when weak, it is full of spring breeze,” added Li Qiaowei, Dean and Professor of the School of Music of Changsha University, and Chairman of the Provincial Music Association.
Huaihua has mobilized the active participation of various literary and artistic groups, associations, and enthusiasts in the city by holding an art festival. The literary and artistic team has been trained, and the creative level has greatly improved, reserving excellent works for next year’s provincial art festival,” added Zou Qinghua, Secretary of the Party General Branch, Dean, and Composer of Hunan Academy of Arts.
In this art festival, awards have been set up for each section of the event, as well as selection of group culture stars, group culture brand projects, and excellent organizations.
Share the Achievements of Literary and Artistic Development
Art serves people, thus it is committed to cultural sharing. In addition to the main section consisting of the opening and closing ceremonies, professional stage art performances, and mass cultural stage art performances, this art festival also carried out a series of warm-up section activities with strong local characteristics and high public participation.
As songs are like the sea, people are like the tide. On July 18th, 2023, the Second “Songs on Huangyan Mountain” Huaihua City Sonic Song Challenge and Yangtze River Basin Invitation Exhibition were held in Huaihua Grand Canyon, Huangyan Tourism Resort, Hecheng District.
At the competition, Huaihua’s eight folk songs and eight work songs gathered together with the two work songs and two folk songs from Tongren City in Guizhou Province, the cities of Changde and Zhangjiajie, as well as Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, showcasing their respective styles. The event brought together folk experts from multiple ethnic groups such as Dong, Miao, Yao, Han, Man, Xibo, and Tujia. More than 400 performers resonated with each other at the top of Huangyan, singing the songs of excellent traditional culture and national unity and progress.
The “cultural feast” could be enjoyed right at your doorstep. On the evening of July 31st, 2023, the final of the “Huaihua Drama Gala” Community Art Competition was held at the People’s Stage in Riverside Square, Hexi Street, Hecheng District of Huaihua. The atmosphere at the scene was warm and engaging.
(The Final of the Second Huaihua Art Festival “Huaihua Drama Gala” Community Art Competition
Photographed by Pan Yu)
The “Huaihua Drama Gala” Community Art Competition lasted for two months, and seven auditions were held in Hongxing Street, Chengbei Street, Chengzhong Street, Chengnan Street, Tuoyuan Street, and Hexi Street. A total of 135 teams and 1,000 actors participated in the selection, covering over 200,000 people. After three semi-finals, a total of 16 teams broke through the tight encirclement.
The dance “Let’s Cheer for the Huaihua International Land Port” selected by Hongyu Community in Hongxing Street applauds the efforts of Huaihua, which is open and progressive, to build an International Land Port. The solo song “Happy China Goes Hand in Hand” selected by Dongxing Community in Chengzhong Street echoes the people’s longing for a better life.
On August 8th, the Second Huaihua Art Festival Line Dance Championship was held at the Tongcheng Commercial Plaza of Huaihua Railway Station. 23 representative teams from various counties and cities competed on stage, and their vibrant performances ignited the passion of the entire audience.
On October 12th, the “One Seed Benefiting the World” recitation was held at the Hybrid Rice Memorial Park of Anjiang Agricultural School in Hongjiang City. Li Bing, the former host of the “Rural Discovery” program on Hunan TV, and young recitation artists such as Shuai Zhigang, Yang Zhaojiang, Lü Ming, and Cai Qingqing respectively contributed classic works such as “Huaihua, a land that meets the needs of your eyes and stomach”, “While rice is ripe, Mom I miss you”, and “A blessed land of Huaihua”. They use the beauty of language art to interpret the power of seeds.
The sound lingers around the ear, and the superimposed pictures penetrate the heart. The engaging Huaihua’s photography tour showcases the charm of the blessed land, with its entering the streets, communities, campuses, and scenic areas. Each photo has a broad realm, exquisite and subtle, enchanting, and sincere.
The performance of benefiting the people further enriches the spiritual and cultural life of the people, and it is a vivid practice for the people to share the achievements of literary and artistic development, prosper the community’s “worldly life”, and light up the “night economy” in their jurisdiction.
Highlight the Theme to Expand Influence
The theme of this art festival is “One Seed Benefiting the World”, and the city brand is always empowered by the culture.
Literary and artistic creation closely revolves around the theme, and a number of masterpieces have emerged, reflecting rural revitalization, ethnic unity, and cultural and tourism integration, such as “ Pan Flower”, “Spring Engagement”, “Favorite Dong Village”, “Mallet to Beat Clothes in Washing”, “Driving to Qianyang”, “Dream of the Joyful Song”, “Singing Magpies and Flying Phoenix”, and “Fishing Drum Music”. All these are the songs of rural revitalization with art and blossoms of national unity.
(On-site of the “One Seed Benefiting the World” Recitation by Renowned Scholars
Photographed by Li Qingqing)
The Second Huaihua Art Festival successively carried out nine series of activities, including the folk songs and work songs, the Huaihua Drama Gala Community Art Competition, the line dance championship, the recitation competition, the professional stage art exhibition, the mass cultural stage art exhibition, the famous recitation meeting, and the engaging Huaihua’s photography tour. Each activity was carefully planned and organized, and publicity and reporting were strengthened. According to statistics, over 2 million people attended the various activities of the festival, and more than 5 million people watched the live broadcast online such as Tiktok and video number. People’s Daily Online, China News Online, Cultural Tourism China, “Learning to Empower the Country” learning platform and other media strongly promoted the festival, and the number of hits on the media network exceeded 6 million.
(Translated by Tian Xia)