LANZHOU — During the May Day holiday, a scenic area in Northwest China drew visitors seeking to explore its ancient way of life, dating back more than 1,000 years.

Li Longfei, a 38-year-old local opera performer dressed in official Song Dynasty (960-1279) attire, was playing the role of a county magistrate hearing cases outdoors, with this scene surrounded by an engaged audience that laughed and nodded along with the performance.

Notably, this immersive experience took place in a restored ancient architectural complex at Huanzhou Ancient City in Huanxian county of Gansu province, which combines dining, historical costume rentals and cultural performances.

Initially hesitant about street performances, Li has since grown to appreciate them. "Performing here creates a more authentic Song Dynasty atmosphere and introduces our opera to tourists nationwide," Li says.

"During holidays, I give multiple daily performances. It's tiring but incredibly rewarding."

Traditional opera artists like Li once went through a lean time, when this troupe staged fewer than 50 performances a year, barely covering salaries, partly due to competition from other arts and online entertainment.

Luckily, the burgeoning trend of integrating culture and tourism has brought new opportunities for performers such as Li. In 2021, Huanxian county developed Huanzhou Ancient City, centered around its iconic Song Dynasty brick pagoda — a historical landmark.

The county has also restored military heritage sites from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and integrated these sites into a tourist attraction, where visitors can traverse ancient towers, command platforms and plank roads.

To enrich the tourism experience further, this spot provides food and catering services, allowing visitors to savor in northwestern culinary delights, such as mutton soup and buckwheat noodles. In addition, traditional cave dwellings draw a significant number of tourists keen on experiencing this Northwest China lifestyle.

The team in charge of operations at this spot recognized that enabling tourists to experience traditional customs and arts would be a fantastic attraction — and this initiative has opened up promising opportunities for local opera troupes.

Currently, Li's troupe integrates local folk operas, including Qinqiang Opera, and shadow puppet shows into its performances.

A renowned Chinese folk tale depicting eight immortals crossing the sea through magic has been adapted into an interactive opera performance.

Visitors can get up close and personal with actors, while audiences also have opportunities to dress up in costumes and engage in improvised interactions with the performers. They can even help shape the progression of the plot.

Beyond traditional opera performances, the troupe's actors feature in dramas, song-and-dance shows, and serve as quiz show hosts. They have also created an immersive situational performance based on the story of renowned politician Fan Zhongyan, who led to build fortifications and trained troops at this location 1,000 years ago.

In this show, the actor portraying the commander, dressed in a robe, performs in front of an ancient-style tower, while soldiers wearing black armor and carrying long spears line up.

"Upon entering the ancient city, I am immediately immersed in an engaging experience. There are countless performance scenes," says tourist Mu Chunni.

"My favorite is the shadow puppet show. It takes me back to the joy experienced in earthen cave dwellings during my childhood."

These days, Li's troupe performs 300 shows and earns 3 million yuan ($415,800) annually, and they are planning to recruit more opera actors and dancers.

Hu Shiwen, director of the tourist center at Huanzhou Ancient City, says that the county has capitalized on the increased public appetite for experiential and interesting cultural tourism by combining local history, art, cuisine and cave dwellings to offer a rich tour experience.

During the 2025 Spring Festival, the ancient city drew over 100,000 visitors, generating revenue exceeding 38 million yuan.

Across the country, local art troupes are getting involved in tourism. This follows a good push to combine culture and tourism, making travel more enjoyable and helping people better experience Chinese culture.

Northwest China, mainly covering provincial-level regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang, boasts profound history and diverse culture. To facilitate the integration, some local governments have also implemented subsidies as incentives for troupes to perform regularly at tourist destinations.

For example, a troupe in the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province has responded by integrating dances from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and Tang Dynasty (618-907) with ethnic music, to create The Heart of Kashgar, a resident performance item in Xinjiang's Kashgar Ancient City. This performance depicts ethnic exchanges along the Silk Road, a network of trade routes connecting China and Europe dating back more than 2,000 years.

Such integration of troupes and tourist spots not only enriches artistic forms but also provides a stage for preserving traditional opera and folk customs, while satisfying consumer needs for an immersive and distinctive cultural experience, says Zhang Lintao, an official of the provincial culture and tourism department.

Xinhua