Linyi earns national stage for performing arts success

The 2026 national conference on culture-tourism integration and performing arts will open in Linyi, Shandong, on Sept 20, marking the first time this high-level national event — previously held in Zhengzhou, Henan, and Xi'an, Shaanxi — has come to a city not traditionally known as a performing arts or tourism powerhouse.

So why Linyi? Because this trade and logistics hub has, in recent years, turned the performing arts economy into a driver of culture-tourism integration — and a model worth studying. The conference's choice of location is based not on fleeting trends, but on the city's solid, tangible achievements.

Linyi's approach is systematic, not piecemeal. In recent years, the city has made the performing arts economy a key driver of its cultural tourism industry, stimulating urban consumption and preserving regional culture. Its core scenic areas lead the way as the city deeply explores its own local history, folk customs, and cultural characteristics, building a distinctive, diverse performing arts ecosystem.

At the same time, responding to market demand, the city is actively introducing new performance scenarios — cruise performances, street performances, and immersive theater — through new projects and collaborative creation. This approach, shifting its focus from products to scenarios and from scenic spots to the entire city, directly addresses challenges in the high-quality development of tourism performing arts.

This systematic layout has produced remarkable results across multiple sectors, from ancient-style indoor shows to water-based night tours, immersion in revolutionary culture, and nighttime museum experiences — forming a diversified performing arts ecosystem rarely seen in a prefecture-level city.

From ancient-style indoor shows and immersive street performances to water-based night tours and first-hand experiences of revolutionary culture, Linyi has built a diverse performing arts ecosystem across the entire city.

From trade hub to performance city, Linyi takes the national spotlight for its success in the integration of culture and tourism. 

Editor：韩蒙蒙