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Beijing film festival opens with record submissions

A spring downpour notwithstanding, the mood in northern Beijing's Huairou district was anything but dampened, as a sea of leading figures from the domestic and international film industries gathered to attend the 16th Beijing International Film Festival, which opened on Thursday.

The festival's highest honor, the Tiantan Award, received a total of 1,826 feature-length film submissions from 139 countries and regions, including China. At 1,607, international submissions accounted for 88 percent of the total, with both figures being new historic highs.

In a departure from tradition, the carpet leading to the opening ceremony venue this year was blue instead of red to symbolize the Grand Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which runs from Beijing in the north to Zhejiang province in the south.

Amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, the technology has emerged as a major theme at the festival. In 2024, a dedicated section for AI-generated content was introduced at the festival to showcase the latest advances in filmmaking, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative globally.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's opening ceremony, Stanley Tong, filmmaker and jury president for the AIGC Unit at this year's festival, said that AI tools are developing rapidly, with new applications emerging every two weeks or so. Some of the most advanced AI-generated visual effects can now be presented in 8K resolution, which is among the highest-definition formats available, he noted.

Tong said that he and his fellow jurors in the unit have reviewed dozens of short-listed entries from a pool of 3,000 submissions. "The technical differences are now barely distinguishable. At the core, it still comes down to characters, stories and performances," he said.

"AI can be used to make films, but ultimately the gripping details of a story depend on the vision of the director and screenwriter. Real human performances still offer greater richness and nuance," Tong added.

Scriptwriter Yu Baimei, also a juror for the AIGC Unit, noted that China produces hundreds of feature films annually, but when compared with its population of more than 1.4 billion, the number of stories brought to the screen seems limited. AI offers more people the opportunity to tell their own stories with greater ease, Yu said.

Actress Shu Qi, who is jury president for the Beijing Film Market, a section dedicated to supporting young talent, said she believes that a good film must have its own distinctive style — one that can draw audiences with great passion and genuine emotions.

Actor Yin Fang said that in today's age of information overload, when most people receive their daily dose of entertainment through smartphones, films must offer something special to lure audiences back into theaters.

Actress Zhou Dongyu, who serves as the festival's global promoter, said she feels honored to have grown alongside the event. It is not just an occasion for presenting awards, but also like an amusement park for cinephiles, who can watch both classics and modern films being screened, she added.

Actor Tan Jianci, the festival's promotional ambassador, noted that cinema has always been nourishment for the soul. "I hope more people will seek out great films and lose themselves in the magic of cinema," he said.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn

Beijing event revives industrial heritage for digital age

Experts, scholars and representatives from government bodies, universities, and industry organizations, gather at the themed event for the International Day for Monuments and Sites in Beijing's Shougang Park on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Digital Integration of Living Heritage: Co-Creating Industrial Memories, a themed event for the International Day for Monuments and Sites (April 18) was held in Beijing's Shougang Park on Wednesday.

Organized by the digital heritage committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites China, the event aligned with the 2026 theme, "Living Heritage", focusing on how industrial heritage can be sustained and reimagined in the digital age.

Song Xinchao, chair of ICOMOS China, emphasized that living heritage is not a passive "cultural commodity" but an organic system sustained by communities, places, and practices.

He cautioned against over-commercialization, cultural rupture, and value-related risks, advocating for modern institutions, technological empowerment, and cultural interpretation frameworks to provide resilient support for living heritage.

Structured around the themes of memory, transmission and co-creation, the event featured the donation of historical industrial objects to the RE Blast Furnace No 3 Digital Museum, the launch of an industrial heritage study route, and the inauguration of a university-industry collaborative practice base.

Three retired representatives from Shougang, one of China's largest steel producers that ceased operations in 2010 and relocated to neighboring Hebei province, donated historical objects carrying a century of industrial memory to the digital museum.

This ceremony aimed to mark the integration of grassroots memory into the public cultural heritage system, vividly illustrating that "industry holds memories, and objects speak", according to the organizers.

An industrial heritage study route, designed by faculty and students from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, was also unveiled.

The route is open to youth, schools, and community groups, aiming to become Beijing's industrial heritage-themed study brand, bridging heritage, education, and the public. It offers a replicable and scalable model, turning industrial sites into "walking classrooms".

At the same time, experts and scholars delivered in-depth talks on the logic and practical pathways of transforming industrial heritage into cultural tourism destinations, local preservation and reuse of industrial heritage, and how digital technologies can expand the reach and perceptual dimensions of industrial heritage.

The digital heritage committee of ICOMOS China said it will continue to leverage its platform to connect experts with the public, and to advance the integration of heritage preservation with education and cultural tourism innovation.

The goal is to ensure that industrial heritage is revitalized and passed on, contributing to the high-quality development of China's cultural heritage sector.

Beijing event revives industrial heritage for digital age

Song Xinchao, chair of ICOMOS China, emphasized that living heritage is not a passive "cultural commodity" but an organic system sustained by communities, places, and practices.

An industrial heritage study route, designed by faculty and students from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, was also unveiled.

The goal is to ensure that industrial heritage is revitalized and passed on, contributing to the high-quality development of China's cultural heritage sector.

New opera cradles the revolutionary spirit

Director Chen Wei.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On May 23 and 24, the Chinese opera Cradle will debut at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Li Xincao, the president of the China Conservatory of Music and the opera's artistic director and conductor, joined the creative team and lead cast members on April 13 to share insights into the production's creation process.

Set against the backdrop of the revolutionary struggles in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province, in 1928, the opera reimagines the heroic efforts of early revolutionaries who defended the region, known as "the cradle of the Chinese revolution".

The story follows Party representative Zhang Yongqing and weaves together key events, such as the suppression of the rebellion, the defense of Huangyangjie, and land redistribution, capturing the spirit of the era.

The opera's title, Cradle, draws on Jinggangshan's historical significance as the birthplace of the Chinese revolution, but it also conveys a deeper meaning, according to Li.

Tenor Han Peng performs songs from the opera Cradle.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The team behind the opera adopted a unique approach. Instead of rushing into rehearsals, they first invited feedback on the music from audiences and experts. "The success of any opera lies in its music," Li noted.

The feedback led to changing more than 50 percent of the opera's music after a preview concert in the latter half of 2025, an unprecedented revision rate in the history of Chinese opera.

Li also pointed out that university-led projects benefit from more flexible timelines, which allow for thoughtful, deliberate artistic processes. "Contemporary Chinese music creation is often hindered by rushed timelines. Good art requires patience, repeated revisions, and deep immersion," he added.

Director Chen Wei, a professor in the China Conservatory of Music's department of vocal and opera, explained the opera's focus on artistic authenticity.

Li Xincao, conductor and the president of the China Conservatory of Music.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Our goal is to present revolutionary history through opera, turning real-life struggles into dramatic musical expressions that are both truthful and moving," she said.

The production distills the core of the revolution, showcasing key figures and moments with a blend of epic scope and modern sensibility.

The music of Cradle carries a grand, symphonic structure, incorporating solos, duets, choruses, and orchestral interludes. Composer Hu Tingjiang, who is also the deputy director of the art practice center at the China Conservatory of Music, emphasized the use of polyphonic techniques and recurring thematic motifs to build narrative layers and intensify dramatic conflicts. The music retains Jinggangshan's rich folk influences while adopting a more complex, multilayered approach to storytelling.

Following its premiere at the NCPA, Cradle will embark on a nationwide tour, with a special performance in Jinggangshan.