China's performance arts market sees explosive growth

China's performance arts market sees robust growth as the economy continues to unleash vitality and potential.

Photo taken on Jan. 23, 2023 shows people at a cinema in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

Data from online ticketing platform Damai.cn showed that in February and March, the platform sold tickets for 47,000 events, three times that of the same period in 2019.

The platform's sales volume and the number of spectators buying tickets on it increased 127 percent and 87 percent from the same period in 2019, respectively.

Tickets for concerts sold out immediately after being made available. Industry insiders said that the box office revenue from concerts during the first half of 2023 is expected to reach 3 billion yuan ($435 million).

Music festivals are also making a comeback. Tickets for many of them, including the Taihu Bay Music Festival in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, the Nanjing Midou Music Festival in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and the Phoenix Music Festival in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, are hard to find.

Statistics indicated that between February and March, box office results of shows in theaters increased 49 percent from the same period in 2019, and 1.92 million people bought tickets to theaters, an increase of 108 percent from the same period in 2019.

Other forms of performances, including live house concerts, immersive dramas and talk shows, also experienced remarkable growth.

Experts said the performance market in 2023 has recovered to pre-pandemic levels.