Cultural Communication across Borders

Edited by Gong Haiying

The year 2021 brought robust development of online art and culture in China.Online cultural and artistic activities including performances and movies are better integrated with technology and digital theaters.Audiences have gained new perspectives after watching performing arts online for so long.To better understand and spread Chinese culture,an increasing number of people have been using modern technology to express traditional culture in new ways.Their efforts have resulted in traditional Chinese culture absorbing modern expressions and transcending national boundaries to reach more people against a backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the most representative sculpture works by Wang Luyan,a contemporary Chinese artist,is on display in Beijing’s Central Business District.Wang attaches importance to the interactions between his works and the environment. VCG

June 28,2021:The Great Journey,an art performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC),is held at the National Stadium in Beijing.This image shows a dance drama titled Sunrise about countless Chinese people with lofty ideals trying to save the country in modern times.However,it was not until the founding of the CPC in 1921 that the Chinese revolution took on an entirely new look. by Duan Wei/China Pictorial

Revolutionary Art

To celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2021,Chinese literary and art workers created abundant revolution-themed works in the form of paintings,movies,TV dramas,and plays.These works aimed to explore the history of the CPC from different perspectives and sought new cultural and artistic expressions of the Party’s history.

From September 17 to November 26,2021,“Beyond the Bounds of History:A Collaborative Exhibition between the Palace Museum and Dunhuang Academy” was held in the Palace Museum in Beijing.The 47 cultural relics from the Palace Museum and 141 from the Dunhuang Academy displayed at the exhibition helped the public embrace the charm of the two great cultural heritage sites.by Dong Fang/China Pictorial

Dunhuang+Palace Museum

The Palace Museum,located in the center of Beijing,is the largest and best-preserved wooden palace complex in China.The Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang are the largest,best-preserved,and richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.

In 1951,an exhibition organized by the Dunhuang Academy debuted in the Palace Museum.About 70 years later,the Palace Museum and Dunhuang got back together as a duo of cultural pillars transcending time and space and combining unique ancient and contemporary charisma to offer visitors an opportunity to understand the fusion,creativity,and vitality of Chinese culture.The two cultural heritage sites have joined hands to show China’s achievements in cultural heritage research and protection.

Performing Arts Online

In 2021,the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic pushed China’s performing arts industry to explore the advantages of the internet and expand its room for development while creating more opportunities for further progress.According to the,a new development paradigm for the performing arts industry that boosts both online and offline performances as well as live and recorded performances will be established.

A still from the dance drama Li Bai produced by the China National Opera &Dance Drama Theater.The China National Opera &Dance Drama Theater offered an online performance season from January 29 to mid-March,2021.The theater brought many of its classic and original dance dramas such as Li Bai and Confucius as well as folk music concerts online.Videos and posts on overseas social media platforms reached 130 million people,and videos have been viewed more than 25 million times.Online performing arts have become a major tool for cultural exchange between China and foreign countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. VCG

A poster for Dreams of Getting Rich,an online blockbuster during the 2021 Spring Festival holiday season.On February 12,2021,China’s Spring Festival,the comedy was released on three major Chinese streaming platforms through a premium video-on-demand model. courtesy of Douban

Online Spring Festival Film Season

On February 5,2021,the Online Film Commission of China Film Association and three major Chinese video streaming platforms launched the “Spring Festival Movie Guide 2021.” The guide highlighted 43 films.The year 2021 marked the debut of the online Spring Festival film season concept.According to statistics,from Spring Festival Eve to the sixth day of the first lunar month in 2021,online movies were viewed around 440 million times,a year-on-year increase of 33.3 percent.

A still from the dance show Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace,produced by Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater.The dance show was the highlight of the Spring Festival Gala of Henan Satellite Television,aired on February 10,2021.New technologies such as 5G and augmented reality (AR) were used to merge virtual scenes with a real stage,creating amazing visual effects.According to statistics,the video of the dance show attracted more than two billion views within just 10 days after it went online. VCG

Thriving Traditional Chinese Culture

In recent years,innovative expressions of traditional Chinese culture have received widespread attention and recognition.The popularity ofis just one example of an innovative return to traditional culture.The dance show was inspired by Tang Dynasty(618-907) pottery figurines displayed in the Henan Museum,so it gave the museum a big boost.

New Discoveries in Sanxingdui Ruins

The Sanxingdui Ruins,located in the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China,were first discovered in the late 1920s.Discovery of the ruins promoted research of the ancient Shu civilization,a term for diverse civilizations in Sichuan,and inspired greater theorizing on the origins of Chinese civilization.Dubbed one of the greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century,six new sacrificial pits were excavated in 2021 following two that were found back in 1986.Over 500 newly unearthed cultural relics awed the world and helped enhance understanding of the ancient Shu civilization while providing more references for the study of the diversified and integrated development of Chinese civilization.

Archaeologists use special lifting equipment to work in the No.3 sacrificial pit at the Sanxingdui Ruins,in order to better protect the cultural relics inside.New archaeological findings of the latest excavation of the Sanxingdui Ruins were announced on March 20,2021. courtesy of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute

Quanzhou:Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China

The Chinese port city of Quanzhou in Fujian Province won UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status on July 25,2021,bringing the total tally of China’s World Heritage sites to 56.The World Heritage Committee inscribed “Quanzhou:Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its 44th session in Fuzhou,China.The site reflects the spatial structure that combined production,transportation,and marketing.It demonstrates key institutional,social,and cultural factors that contributed to the spectacular rise and prosperity of Quanzhou as a maritime hub from the 10th to the 14th century.Quanzhou’s inscription as a World Heritage site testifies to the long history of exchange and mutual learning between China and the rest of the world and connects China with Southeast Asia countries culturally.

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage

The Luoyang Bridge is one of the 22 component sites featured as part of “Quanzhou:Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China.” It was built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and has been well preserved.A milestone in the development of Quanzhou’s transportation,the bridge promoted the establishment and improvement of the water and land transport system in the city. Xinhua

August 1,2021:Su Bingtian becomes the first Chinese sprinter to qualify for the Olympic men’s 100m final at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.Su clocked a personal best and a new Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the semifinals to secure a place in the final.by Wang Lili/Xinhua

Chinese Speed

From men’s 100m semifinal at the 2012 London Games,to the first Asian-born athlete to run a sub-10 second in the 100 meters when he finished third at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene in 2015,to the first Chinese sprinter to qualify for the Olympic men’s 100m final at the Tokyo Games,Su Bingtian has been synonymous with “Chinese speed.”In 2015,Su switched his feet on the starting block.With the help of Ralph Vernon Mann,an American expert in sports biomechanics,Su gradually found a science-based training method suited for him.As the men’s 100m Asian record holder,Su has been an inspiration to millions.

October 7,2021:Filmgoers look at a poster for The Battle at Lake Changjin in a cinema in Fuzhou City,Fujian Province. VCG

The Battle at Lake Changjin

The War epichit Chinese big screens on September 30,2021.By December 16,it had become the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time with 5.76 billion yuan (US$905 million) in earnings.Set in the War to Resist U.S.Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953),the film tells the story of ill-equipped Chinese People’s Volunteers soldiers wiping out an entire regiment of fully-armed American troops in freezing temperatures in a key campaign at Lake Changjin.The grand war scenes,specific details,and multi-dimensional characters sought to help contemporary Chinese people better understand the devotion and sacrifice of previous generations and realize that peace is always hard won.

Yu Dong,producer of and chairman of Bona Film Group

Original Comedy

During the COVID-19 pandemic,laughter has been in even higher demand.With the slogan of “heartless and double happiness,”sought to expand the boundary of comedies through new forms that doubled the audience’s satisfaction.

A promotional photo for Super Sketch Show.On October 15,2021,Super Sketch Show debuted on Chinese streaming platforms,and its popularity has risen ever since. IC

December 7,2021:The Christmas season at the Universal Beijing Resort attract many tourists. VCG

Universal Studios Beijing

The Universal Beijing Resort opened to the public on September 20,2021.The fifth and biggest Universal Studios theme park in the world,the widely anticipated destination features seven zones including Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness,Transformers:Metrobase,Minion Land,The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,Jurassic World Isla Nublar,Hollywood,and Waterworld.Featuring a high-quality operation and management mode,wide content marketing,and combination of theme-based immersive experience and popular characters,the resort is expected to receive around 10 million tourists each year and secure an annual turnover of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion).

Hu Xijin,former editor-in-chief of

Chinese E-sports

E-sports,a new competitive sport,has become a global cultural phenomenon.EDG’s world championship testified to the development of e-sports in China.With e-sports included as an official project in the 19th Asian Games scheduled to be hosted by the Chinese city of Hangzhou in 2022,governmental guidance will enhance its development.The scale of China’s e-sports industry is expected to exceed 180 billion yuan (US$28 billion) and have around 418 million users in 2022.

November 7,2021: China’s EDward Gaming (EDG) edges defending champions DWG KIA of South Korea to win the 2021 League of Legend World Championship in Reykjavik,Iceland.Live streaming of the championship attracted more than 200 million viewers from all over the world. VCG