Cultural Communication across Borders

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.

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.

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 Development Plan of the Cultural Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period， 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.

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.

Thriving Traditional Chinese Culture

In recent years， innovative expressions of traditional Chinese culture have received widespread attention and recognition. The popularity of Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace is 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.

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.

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.

The Battle at Lake Changjin

The War epic The Battle at Lake Changjin hit 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.

Original Comedy

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

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）.

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.