Guizhou holds theatrical festival for ethnic groups

Guizhou's seventh provincial theatrical festival for ethnic groups will present ethnic drama in Guiyang city. [Photo/ddcpc website]

The seventh provincial theatrical festival for ethnic groups opened on June 16 in Guiyang – capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province – and is scheduled to run through to June 27.

At the opening ceremony, Guiyang's delegation presented a musical drama from the Bouyei people called Yunshang Titian, which means "terraced fields over the clouds" in Chinese.

It tells the story of a graduate trying to revitalize a Bouyei village by developing its agriculture – in a work which integrates the Bouyei ethnic group's traditional dance and culture with opera singing and modern dance.

The drama was selected by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission as an entry for the sixth national art festival of ethnic groups.

The festival is held every four years and this time round it is themed on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, with a program of nine plays showcasing Guizhou's achievements in poverty alleviation and economic growth in areas inhabited by ethnic groups.

The plays will be presented in the cities and counties of Bijie, Liupanshui, Kaili, Zunyi, Tongren, Anshun, Duyun and Ceheng on June 17-24.

The festival's closing ceremony will be held in Guiyang on June 27, when the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture's delegation will present a modern Dong drama.