The 2025 "Great Shows in Beijing" performance season successfully concluded on December 22 after a three-month run. This season saw a total of 446 sessions of shows, resulting in over 420,000 on-site views and over 150 million online views. These shows collectively drove the city's total performance box office revenue to over 210 million yuan.

A multi-tiered performing arts ecosystem has taken shape in Beijing. Data show that from January to September 2025, there were around 45,000 sessions of commercial performances in Beijing, leading to more than 11.23 million on-site views and generating over 4.198 billion yuan in box office revenue, representing year-on-year increases of 5 percent, 7 percent, and 20 percent, respectively.

A number of distinctive performing arts clusters have taken shape across the city, such as the Wangfujing Theater Valley in Dongcheng District, the Sanlitun-Liangma River International Cultural Performing Arts Zone in Chaoyang District, and the Beijing Performing Arts Center and Taihu Performing Arts Town in the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center.

In recent years, Beijing has introduced a range of supportive policies to boost the development of its performing arts industry. These include the Three-Year Action Plan for Building Beijing into a "Capital of Performing Arts" (2023–2025), and the Measures to Support High-Quality Development of Performing Arts Industry in Beijing, with the latter supporting the annual allocation of dedicated amounts of the Beijing Culture and Arts Fund to provide end-to-end support for artistic creation.

Beijing has developed numerous performance brands, whose convergence and linkage have been reinforcing the city's leading position as a "Capital of Performing Arts". In 2025 alone, major events such as the "Great Shows in Beijing" performance season, the 28th Beijing Music Festival, the 2025 Beijing People's Art Theater International Theater Festival, the Laoshe Theater Festival, and the International Monodrama Festival have jointly contributed to a performance market highlighted by rich offerings.

Ticket stubs have become a powerful catalyst for urban consumption. Data indicate that large-scale concerts have created a significant ripple effect, with an estimated 6.85 yuan generating in related spending for every 1 yuan spent on tickets. Spending in surrounding areas also increased by about 30 percent during performances at the Bird's Nest Stadium. In addition, the 2025 Beijing People's Art Theater International Theater Invitational boosted the volume of transactions in the Wangfujing commercial area by 28 percent compared with the previous statistical period.

In the context of the integration of culture, commerce, and tourism, Beijing has rolled out various benefit initiatives for the public. For instance, the three-month "Golden Autumn Public Welfare Performance Attendance Campaign" launched in September 2025 provided subsidies worth 20 million yuan for spectators. Additionally, the National Centre for the Performing Arts' "Second Venue" cultural brand, launched in 2025, has offered 80,000 affordable tickets across China.

(Source: Beijing Daily)