A five-episode grand cultural show demonstrates how the spirit of Chinese artists and their artworks evolved and became classics after a celebrated speech on art and literature delivered by late Chairman Mao Zedong at the former revolutionary base of Yan'an eight decades ago.

"Starting from Yan'an," produced by China Media Group (CMG), is a cooperative and hybrid TV show through its joint effort with 16 national literature and art troupes, education institutions, and performing companies. Those groups include the National Peking Opera Company, National Theatre of China, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, China Oriental Performing Arts Group, China National Symphony Orchestra, China National Theatre for Children, China National Opera House, The National Ballet of China, China National Traditional Orchestra, China Coal Mine Art Troupe, Beijing People's Art Theatre, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Central Conservatory of Music, The Central Academy of Drama, China Academy of Art, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, as listed in a press release for the show.

In May 1942, Mao hosted a symposium attended by many representatives from literature and art circles and outlined how China must have a "cultural army" as well as a regular army in order to win revolutionary victories. He added that literature and art should serve the broadest masses of the people rather than serving the bourgeois elites. This symposium and his speech later had a huge impact on the people-centered creative direction of Chinese cultural works and China's policymaking in the cultural sector. Following the symposium, many revolutionary classics were also born.

The retrospective TV show marks the 80th anniversary of the symposium and integrates interviews, talk shows, and various high-quality stage performances ranging from musical, orchestra, dance, drama to opera, bridging the past and the present, remembering the history, and passing of the meeting's legacy. 

With new technologies, the landmarks of Yan'an in the revolutionary years will be recreated on stage after the productions's creative team collecting images around the city. In addition, close to a hundred artworks will be presented on stage through extended reality (XR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, following consultation by the creative team with art experts and historians. During the show, China's new generation of actors such as Wu Lei, Liu Haoran, and Guan Xiaotong will come together with veteran performers like Meng Yu, Qiao Peijuan, and Tian Hua to explore inspirations from the past.

One episode of "Starting from Yan'an" will be broadcast per week on CCTV-3 under CMG from May 23 to June 19.

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