Expanding the Field of Creation and Being Part of the Development of Culture & Tourism
“Young people need a platform like the Yue Opera Town to learn something. Can we apply for a job here? Or can we become volunteers or interns?”
“We have seen some towns which are not doing well. There are just some houses with no innovative design. The Theatre Town you talked about today is particularly wonderful. Could it be copied somewhere else? China might need a lot of such towns. Do you think there is more space for that?”
On May 24, 2019, Mr. Guo Xiaonan, Chairman of Shengzhou Yue Opera Town Culture & Tour Co., Ltd., Chairman of the International Theatre Town Alliance, and a famous director, was invited by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Theatre Academy respectively, the two highest Chinese institutions of higher learning in art, to give lectures on the ideas, achievements and future planning of the Yue Opera Town. The above questions were posed respectively by the students of the Third Advanced Workshop of China Performing Arts Leaders held by the Department of Art Management of Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Advanced Workshop of China National Arts Fund “Comprehensive Training of Stage Art Talents” held by the Department of Stage Art of Shanghai Theatre Academy.
In a speech titled “Expanding the Field of Creation and Being Part of the Development of Culture & Tourism”, Director Guo Xiaonan not only sorted out the relations between culture and tourism, introduced thespecific planning of the Yue Opera Town, but also proposed the concept and goals of “cultural habitability”. In his view, culture is a way of living concerning people’s everyday life, and art is the space for human beings to place their souls. The “cultural habitability”, on one hand, must be based on the whole idea of culture so that we must construct a comfortable and comprehensive ecological and industrial environment for the inheritance and development of the regional culture. On the other hand, we must also be individual-oriented and build an ideal life for everyone to return to the traditional context and live poetic lives. The Yue Opera Town is an item in the cultural and tourism industry established with the name of a type of opera. Its cultural positioning and goal is to establish this kind of “cultural habitability”. Here, a type of opera is returning to its original state and creates a new form of development. More importantly, it establishes a poetic pursuit of the living space and a way of life for contemporary individuals. The fundamental ideal of the Yue Opera Town is to reconstruct the quality life close to the Chinese cultural tradition, and urge the public to start from the “culture and tourism” and re-establish the Chinese-style life philosophy which have belonged to them and could help them cheer up, move closer to nature, cultivate their mind and experience art. In this way, people can live more elegant and comfortable lives and shine in the world more gracefully and confidently.
“Cultural habitability” is the guiding idea for the construction of the Yue Opera Town. It covers four aspects, namely, the inheritance and adherence of opera art, the revitalization and development of the agriculture, rural areas, and the rural residents, the promotion of intangible cultural heritage, and the innovation and upgrading of the cultural and tourism industry.
Director Guo Xiaonan receives the letter of appointment from Professor Yin Tianfu, the Director of the Department of Stage Art of the Shanghai Theatre Academy.