China's youth enchanted by performing arts

He also said the fact that Chinese young performers are doing increasingly well in the domestic market shows a great potential for indigenous culture to build a stronghold, although Chinese cultural industries are not so strong as that of the United States.

The report also gave examples of some of the most popular theatrical productions in 2019, including musicals, plays and children plays.

For example, Rhinoceros in Love, a Chinese play directed by one of China's most commercially successful theater directors, Meng Jinghui, premiered in 1999. The Count of Wulong Mountain was produced by Mahua Fun Age, one of China's most popular comedy troupes. These were two of the most well-received plays among young theatergoers born after 2000.

Onmyoji, a musical adapted from the mobile video game with the same name, which was developed by Chinese internet company NetEase in 2016, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's award-winning musical, Cats, were most-watched by people born after 1995 and 2000 respectively in China.

One of the most popular musicals staged in China last year was French musical Mozart-L'opera Rock.

According to Beijing Joyway Culture & Media Co, the co-organizer, Mozart-L'opera Rock toured nine Chinese cities. These included Tianjin; Nanjing of Jiangsu province; Guangzhou; Beijing and Xi'an of Shaanxi province, between Dec 30, 2018 and March 24, 2019. Its 77 performances attracted 112,750 people in total.

"Musical has a stable fan base in China and the reputation of Mozart-L'opera Rock made it a hit among Chinese fans," said Zhang Yuzi, deputy manager with the Beijing company.

When the musical was staged in Hangzhou in mid-March, it drew a big crowd of fans, including Chen Yike, a 28-year-old resident.

"It was the first French musical that I had ever watched. I was totally captivated by the show so I bought tickets for another two days," recalled Chen.

She also took photos and got autographs from the cast after the shows. "There were lots of fans lining outside the theater, which I will never forget. I hope the musical will come to China again."

The average individual spend on concerts among Chinese consumers was 1,525 yuan in 2019. Musicals grossed 1,280 yuan for average individual spend.