Despite the midsummer heat on Friday afternoon, parents and children thronged outside the Jiaxing Culture and Art Center in East China's Zhejiang province, awaiting the opening of the 15th China Children's Theater Festival.
Along the shores of the Xiuhu Lake, which the center abuts, a children's art market, a starlight mini-theater and playful character parades captured the eyes of delighted children.
"I sing of the beauty of all things; I sing of hope that never dies..."
The Nightingale, a fairy-tale musical adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's classic story and performed by the China National Theater for Children, kicked off the festival. The show enchanted the audience with the nightingale's melodious singing and a dreamlike stage design, filling the hall with waves of laughter.
Ge Dali, chairman of the 15th China Children's Theatre Festival organizing committee and president of the China National Theater for Children, said it was the first time since the festival's inception in 2011 that it has stepped outside of Beijing to host its main venue and opening ceremony. This milestone delivers top-tier, national-level theater resources directly to local communities.
In his welcoming address, Zhang Donghe, head of Jiaxing's publicity department, noted that since the Xiuzhou district of Jiaxing city partnered with the China National Theater for Children in 2021, the district has hosted the festival's Jiaxing sub-venue for four consecutive years.
Over this period, 20 productions and 103 performances have been staged, drawing nearly 60,000 children and parents from across the Yangtze River Delta region and allowing youth to experience the charm of theater right on their doorstep.
"My child has been obsessed with theatre since he was small," Zhai Ping, a Jiaxing resident, told Chinanews.com.
"We used to have to drive to big cities to watch a play, but now we can enjoy world-class children's theater right in our neighborhood. They don't just get to watch—they even get the chance to perform."
Zhai said that during this year's festival, her son will share the stage with national-level actors in the original children's percussion musical Mulan, a joint production by the China Children's Art Theatre and the people's government of Xiuzhou district.
As China's premier national-level children's theater brand — boasting the longest run, most performances, and widest reach — this year's festival features Jiaxing Xiuzhou as the main venue, connected with Beijing and radiating across three sub-venues in Shenzhen (Guangdong), Wuhan (Hubei), and Yulin (Shaanxi).
Running through the end of August, the festival will feature 39 productions by 25 children's theatre companies from four different countries, delivering 181 performances to create a widely accessible and celebrated theatrical feast for families.
Since its launch in 2011, the China Children's Theater Festival has featured 360 theatre troupes and 605 productions, both online and offline, from 35 countries and regions across five continents, solidifying its reputation as a global stage for celebrating achievements in children and youth theater.
