Anticipation builds for summer art festival in Beijing

The annual Gateway to Arts summer festival will return to the capital from July 4 to Aug 24 at the Forbidden City Concert Hall. Celebrating its 32nd edition, the festival will feature 45 performances, 12 summer art camps, and nine Chinese music-themed lecture series led by professional scholars. Additionally, eight workshops will highlight Chinese intangible cultural heritage alongside five public welfare activities.

Established in 1995, the festival is a summer staple for families in Beijing, offering a variety of art forms including classical music, traditional Chinese operas, dance performances, and puppet shows.

According to Xu Jian, consultant of Beijing Poly Theatre Management Company, the organizer of the festival, this year the festival extends the art experience to different artistic spaces, offering audiences of all ages a new journey into the beautiful connection between art and life, creating a summer cultural feast combining artistry, fun, and interactivity. The Beijing Symphony Orchestra and Beijing Chinese Orchestra will perform during the opening and closing concerts. Other performances will feature the National Ballet of China, the China Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble, and the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing.

The festival will also host art camps for brass instruments, percussion, choir, pop music composition, and traditional Chinese music, such as the pipa, guqin, and Peking Opera. Since its inception in 2007, the art camps have become a highlight, attracting children living in Beijing and from nearby cities, such as Tianjin and cities in Hebei province.

This year, the festival invites music scholars from the Chinese National Academy of Arts to present a lecture series highlighting Chinese music and connecting history to the present. From the ceremonial music of bronze bells to folk music, from the pipa to the guzheng, a diverse selection of Chinese music will be introduced to attendees.

The festival partners with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Association to launch a new program featuring "Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Camps", including calligraphy brush-making, cloisonne, and Jingxiu embroidery.