What sparks will fly when time-honored traditional opera unexpectedly meets the digital games and urban exploration beloved by Generation Z? From June 12th to 21st, coinciding with Cultural and Natural Heritage Day and the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the "Wandering in the Pear Garden" theme event for Heritage Day, spearheaded by the Shanghai Opera Art Center, will officially commence.
This year's initiative actively embraces the social context of contemporary youth, launching a cultural breakthrough and "breaking the circle" action aimed at young people and the future through multidimensional pathways including cross-border digital gaming, immersive city walks (Citywalk), and innovative IP incubation.
Traditional Intangible Heritage Enters the New Arena of "Digital Interactive Entertainment"
How can ancient intangible heritage arts be revitalized and passed on in modern society? Rather than waiting passively, it is better to actively step into the lives of young people. The solution proposed by this Heritage Day event is to deeply connect opera with anime culture and digital interactive entertainment.
It is understood that within the People's Square area, a landmark performing arts hub in Shanghai, "Wandering in the Pear Garden" has ingeniously launched a stamp-collecting mystery activity themed "Finding an Opera Companion." This is not a superficial check-in tour but an invitation for young people to assume the role of "opera fans," navigating between performing arts landmarks such as the Tianchan Yifu Stage, the Shanghai Huai Opera Troupe, and the Changjiang Theater, collecting a century of Shanghai opera memories along a 3-kilometer route.
Through on-site exploration and interactive games, young people can glimpse behind-the-scenes stories of the diverse opera world, completing a deep and warm micro-journey into urban culture.
On the 7th-floor atrium of Building C in the No.1 Department Store, opera IP and digital games achieve deep integration with the stunning debut of the "Meng Weizhi × Mo Hun" interactive entertainment theme site. Yue Opera "Meng Weizhi," one of the incubated works from the first "China Small Theater Opera Exhibition Innovation Lab," has launched a multi-dimensional cross-border collaboration with the musical of the same name.
Young Yue Opera performers Wang Wanna and Fei Xinping, as the lead actors in the Yue Opera version, will meet the audience as special returning guests on June 14th and 21st. The gentle and delicate Jiangnan vocal style of Yue Opera seamlessly connects here with the ink-wash artistic digital aesthetics of the game.
Furthermore, an immersive check-in area and a special market integrating Yue Opera IP and game elements have been meticulously created on-site. Such collaborations provide opera with visually expressive and communicative vehicles that resonate with internet culture.
Continuing the Pear Garden Legacy Within the Urban Fabric
The innovative "circle-breaking" of opera remains rooted in reflecting on its profound history. June 13th will usher in the 2026 "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day." Once again joining forces, the Shanghai Opera Art Center and the Shanghai Art Research Center have co-planned and launched a touring exhibition focusing on the interaction between contemporary cultural industries and intangible cultural heritage, presented simultaneously at venues including the Shanghai Huai Opera Troupe and the Tianchan Yifu Stage.
This exhibition moves beyond traditional curation approaches for opera art, instead focusing on the contemporary value and diverse expressions of opera. It not only presents precious historical archives and incorporates easily understandable opera knowledge but also showcases the cross-border integration of opera elements within contemporary cultural industries, allowing opera to approach young people in a lighthearted and fun manner.
Additionally, this year marks the centennial of the Tianchan Stage's opening. This significant cultural landmark serves as a backdrop throughout, witnessing the inheritance and innovation of opera art in the present day.
This approach of integrating venue space with historical context transforms "watching opera" from merely entering a theater to more akin to reading the cultural fabric of the city and tracing the development of Shanghai-style culture.
Simultaneously, the Heritage Day series also emphasizes a lively atmosphere. At the Wanping Theater, the "Wandering 'Wan' Summer" Intangible Heritage Opera Charm Garden Party arrives as scheduled.
For two consecutive days on June 13th and 14th, young opera performers will present "Hundred Operas Flash Mob" performances. An outdoor plaza will also feature areas for trendy Chinese文创, intangible heritage artisans, and activities like "folk star" costume and makeup, transforming the traditional theater into an immersive cultural playground that is strollable, viewable, and playable.
As a tribute to the depth of Shanghai-style culture, the experimental Shanghai opera "Short Chapters on the Edge," a participating work from the "2025 China Small Theater Opera Exhibition," will be restaged at the Changjiang Theater.
Coinciding with the 90th anniversary of Lu Xun's passing, the work gently narrates the classic chapters of the literary giant in the soft Wu dialect, forming a unique "Shanghai Opera + Literature" linked IP, infusing the Heritage Day series with a profound local essence.
During the event period, classic repertoire such as Peking Opera "The Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" and "Xu Liang Eliminates Tyranny," along with Yue Opera "Peach, Plum, and Apricot," will also be passionately performed at the Tianchan Yifu Stage.
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