Innovation makes traditional Yue Opera more appealing to young people: official

The Yue Opera, a traditional Chinese opera originating from east China's Zhejiang Province, is expected to attract more young audience, said an official in charge of the province's culture promotion work as he cited the warm response to an innovative play adapted from a well-known Chinese martial arts film.

Chen Guangsheng, director of the Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism of Zhejiang Province, made the remarks in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), saying that the success of the play "New Dragon Gate Inn" can be attributed to its integration of tradition and innovation.

"I think the high popularity of Yue Opera 'New Dragon Gate Inn' can be contributed to innovation. It is actually an open trick. The rhythmic characteristics of the Yue Opera helps unleash the dramatic tension of the play, which makes it more acceptable to and welcomed by young audience," said Chen.

The "New Dragon Gate Inn" Yue Opera made a hit among China’s youth last year. Its story is set against the backdrop of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and tells the tale of martial arts heroes encountering skilled agents of the traitors at the Dragon Gate Inn located in a vast desert.

The play has two"post-90s born" actors play the leading roles, whose brilliant performances attracted a new generation of audiences with some of them even arriving hours in advance to purchase limited signed souvenir brochures.

"For many years, the Yue Opera attracted more aged audiences than young ones. But this time, most of the audience of the 'New Dragon Gate Inn' and the youth edition of 'The Butterfly Lovers', which came later, are in their 20s or 30s," said Chen.

The young audiences' favor for "New Dragon Gate Inn" proves that the Yue Opera, as a traditional theatrical form, has a great potential to innovate itself and thus attract even more youth into theater, Chen said.

"The 'New Dragon Gate Inn' attracts the young audience while keeping the opera's traditions, which I think is really important. It proves that as long as we make changes to attract young audience by meeting their taste, the Yue Opera will embrace a great market prospect," said Chen.

Innovation makes traditional Yue Opera more appealing to young people: official

The Pinglu Canal, a major new waterway in south China, has successfully concluded its first trial navigation for passenger vessels, marking another step forward its official opening in September.

Measuring 32 meters long and 5.4 meters wide with a certified capacity of 100 passengers, the test vessel docked smoothly at an integrated service area in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at midday on Monday, marking the successful completion of the inaugural passenger service trial along the canal. According to the local maritime authorities, the trial was conducted without passengers on board and served as a comprehensive first-phase evaluation of the canal's navigability for passenger ships, the operational efficiency of its lock system, and the service capabilities of its waterside support facilities.

Monday's successful trail navigation came less than two weeks after the canal officially launched vessel trials on Aug 12, paving the way for future commercial passenger services on the waterway.

"Based on the entire navigation process this time, the channel dimensions of the Pinglu Canal, the operational efficiency of its locks, and the support capabilities of the waterside service areas all met the navigational requirements for tourist passenger vessels," said He Changhai, a law enforcement officer from the Qinzhou Maritime Safety Administration.

Designed to accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tons, the 134.2-km Pinglu Canal is China's first major river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949.

Stretching from the Pingtang River in Guangxi's Hengzhou City to the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, the canal is the backbone of the country's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which has evolved into a strategic route linking China's inland regions with countries of the Association of Souchteast Asian Nations and other global markets.

The corridor's rail service handled a record 1.425 million 20-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2025, up 47.6 percent year on year. As of early July 2026, its network has reached 593 ports in 128 countries and regions.

China's major river-to-sea canal completes first passenger vessel trial run ahead of official opening