Promotional material for the Chengdu Jazz Festival Photo: Courtesy of Douban

 
The Chengdu Jazz Festival - music event

This music event in Chengdu, one of the most culturally vibrant cities in Sichuan Province, is going to excite visitors who are big fans of jazz music. 

The Chengdu Jazz Festival is an annual event held in the capital of Sichuan Province. For this iteration, nine jazz bands formed by artists from a mix of cultural backgrounds will perform on different stages. 

Along with these jazz concerts, dance groups will also strut their stuff on stage. 

A few star performers are set to attend the event. For instance, jazz pianist Luo Ning, dubbed the "Asian jazz piano poet," will show up for a jazz quartet show, while renowned jazz pianist Zhu Mang will perform in a quintet show. 

The show aims to bring the beauty of jazz to the public, which is why it will be held in the city's above-water theater. 

Chengdu is proud of its rich contemporary music culture, which has allowed it to ­transform into an artistic cradle for jazz and hip-pop music in China.

The event will also collaborate with China's hot streaming platform Bilibili to stream shows online in order to reach more fans all around the country. 

According to the organizers, this "online plus offline" model has been adopted for the cultural event as an optimistic response to keep alive culture and art's power to inspire the public during the pandemic period. 

The show is also set to introduce a few "secret guest performers" after it finally kicks off in mid-December.  

Where: Luxelakes, Water ­Theater, Chengdu 

When: From December 17, 2022  

Price: 398 yuan ($55) 


'Run for Your Wife' - stage performance 

Run for Your Wife in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, is a Chinese interpretation of English playwright Ray Cooney's iconic play of the same name.

Inheriting Cooney's classic British humor, the show in China attempts to interpret the original's funny absurdities, iconic sarcasm and unexpected story ending on the stage for Chinese audiences. 

The play tells the story of cab driver John Smith, who becomes tangled in relationships with two women: his wife Streatham and another woman who lives near his home in Wimbledon, London.

Lovers of stage plays have expressed high anticipation for the show on China's media review site Douban. 

"I know the story. It made me laugh so wildly I nearly fell off my sofa. So looking forward to this version," wrote one fan.

Where: Grandview Theater, Guangzhou 

When: Until December 18, 2022

Price: From 180 yuan ($25)

'The Enigmatic Note' - musical 

Musicals are often seen as a classical art form worldwide, but this musical called The Enigmatic Note, in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, might update your perspectives on the art form with its touch of mysterious ambience that sees audiences play "clues detectives" as they interact with performers. 

With a strange perfume scent as its starting point, the musical provides with audiences two storylines to choose from. 

Line A follows the lead heroine Katharina's footsteps as she seeks to find a 300-year-old secret that is somehow connected to her.  

In Line B, audiences try to uncover the secret involving a newly married couple and a mysterious visitor. 

The two storylines will merge together by the tail end of the show. 

Audiences who choose Line A will get to know the story "clockwise," while Line B's audiences will only learn about the background to the events after they unfold on stage.  

Audiences must be 10 or older to take part, and no filming or photographic devices will be allowed after the show begins. 

Where: Mapcarta, Nanjing 

When: Until December 17, 2022 

Price: 258 yuan ($36)