China's commercial performance market witnessed steady growth in 2025 with box office revenue across the country amounting to 61.655 billion yuan (about 8.84 billion U.S. dollars), representing a year-on-year increase of 6.39 percent, the Association of Performing Arts announced on Tuesday.
The latest data released by the association showed that 640,400 commercial performances were staged nationwide during 2025, with audience numbers reaching 194 million, indicating a growth of 4.22 percent compared to 2024.
These figures underscore an upward trajectory in China's performance market, where new and innovative performance formats flourished, pointing toward a more mature and diversified industry.
There were 3,000 large-scale commercial performances -- defined as events with audiences exceeding 5,000 -- up 12.7 percent from 2024. These attracted 43.398 million attendees, an increase of 18.81 percent, generating box office revenues of 32.448 billion yuan (about 4.65 billion U.S. dollars), a rise of 9.49 percent.
This momentum can be attributed in part to strong policy support across regions, as well as to deeper integration of tourism and culture. By combining performance projects with local tourism, the ticket economy has boosted both consumer's willingness to spend and audience enthusiasm.
Throughout 2025, 198,700 medium- and large-scale tourism-themed performances were staged across China, up 4.95 percent year on year, generating 17.44 billion yuan (about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars) in ticket revenue, an increase of 6.43 percent, and attracting about 88 million attendees, a rise of 3.01 percent.
China's box office revenue for commercial performances hits 61.66 bln yuan in 2025
The 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) opened on Monday in Barcelona, Spain, under the theme "The IQ Era", with a focus on intelligent infrastructure, AI connectivity and integration, enterprise-level AI applications, AI ecosystem collaboration, inclusive technology and innovation-driven transformation.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the event's presence in Barcelona, this year's MWC has drawn around 2,900 exhibitors, sponsors and partners.
More than 1,200 speakers are taking part in discussions, with country and regional pavilions and technology-themed exhibition areas representing over 100 countries and regions.
Participants include global mobile network operators, device manufacturers and technology firms.
Amid the bustling exhibition halls, attendees highlighted the pervasive impact of artificial intelligence on both personal routines and professional workflows.
"The topic I think that really impressed is the AI influence because I use it every day," said a visitor.
"AI is, I mean, more and more getting into daily life for everybody. AI is reshaping the way people work. It increases productivity," said another visitor.
Network capabilities centering around AI applications also dominated discussions, where many companies unveiled their visions for 6G technology.
"This new spectrum band will adopt ultra-massive antenna arrays and energy-efficient, lightweight engineering solutions to meet operators' needs, bridging the current 5G era and the coming 6G," said Zhao Dong, vice president of Huawei's wireless networking product line and the company's chief marketing officer.
A China Pavilion has been set up at the congress for the first time, featuring major Chinese companies including China Mobile, China Unicom, Huawei, ZTE, Honor and Xiaomi, showcasing their latest advancements in mobile communications and AI technologies.
Industry insiders believe that the collective appearance of Chinese enterprises is injecting new impetus for competition and cooperation into the global communication industry.
I'm seeing that Chinese company has made a lot of progress and they are competing very well in every technology field, especially in AI. And we've seen a lot of AI platforms, AI generative devices," said Mohamed Ben Amor, secretary-general of the Arab ICT Organization.
MWC 2026 opens in Barcelona, spotlighting 'The IQ Era'
