What kind of sparks will collide when the 600 year old intangible cultural heritage Kunqu meets the modern coffee of Lujiazui? From May 29th to May 31st, the 11th Lujiazui International Coffee Culture Festival will open its spring special event for the first time. During the three-day cultural gathering, not only did it gather premium coffee from around the world, but it also marked the warm start of the Lujiazui Coffee Festival and Eastern cultural aesthetics.
Photo by Xu Cheng, same below
Using the building as a backdrop, listen to a song called 'Water Grinding New Tune'
Kunqu Opera, known as the "ancestor of hundred plays", underwent an unprecedented contemporary reconstruction during the Spring Special Session of the 11th Lujiazui Coffee Culture Festival. On the evening of May 29th to 30th, led by Mr. Zhang Jun, the "Prince of Kunqu Opera", several musicians collaborated with Kunshan Contemporary Kunqu Opera House to create a stunning performance of "Shuimo New Tune · New Kunqu Opera" for the first time on a real lake surface in the central green space of Lujiazui, Shanghai, with the lake as the platform and the building as the curtain.
I used to think Lujiazui had a fast pace, but this time it suddenly slowed down, "Xiaoxuan, a young audience member working in the Financial City, described her feelings to reporters last night. Holding coffee and listening to Kunqu opera; surrounded by many young people dressed in Hanfu and strolling through cultural and creative industries, this feeling is very special. It's not like a traditional market, but more like going to a modern Oriental gathering
Kunqu Opera is the soul, contemporary music is the form. That night, diverse music languages such as rock, electronics, pop, saxophone, violin, etc. intertwined, allowing the six hundred year elegant charm of water to complete a wonderful encounter through time and space between the forest of buildings in the Financial City and the aroma of coffee and tea. The live audience sat on the ground, gazing up at the night sky in the center of the city, listening to the evening breeze and Kunqu opera composing a concerto – at that moment, Jiangnan elegance had its own interpretation of this era.
In addition, the specially planned "corner with drama" segment during the day was presented by young actors from Kunshan Contemporary Kunqu Opera House – a classic Kunqu opera excerpt "Peony Pavilion · Garden Dreams", which was softly spoken at the spring stage of Lujiazui Coffee Festival. Actors not only perform on stage, but also navigate through crowds. Sing a play with the audience, dance with a water sleeve, and hold a gesture together… Traditional art is no longer far away, it is now in a young way, in the depths of the garden, listening with the audience to "the original colorful flowers bloom everywhere".
Taking tea as a guide, go to an Eastern elegant gathering
If the water Kunqu opera in the twilight is a grand ceremony of Eastern culture, then the spring limited market led by tea is a gentle and flowing narrative of Eastern daily life.
More than 150 brands gathered here – from Yunnan boutique coffee to Wuyi rock tea, from intangible cultural heritage embroidery to China-Chic design, to warm and appropriate snacks. They are not deliberately displayed, but more like natural scenery grown in spring. The Tea Life section collaborates with the "Yixinjia" brand to seamlessly blend traditional tea activities with contemporary camping life through a scenario based interpretation of "one seat, one environment".
When poetry meets Shanghai dialect, words and phrases no longer just lie on paper. At the event site, the Lujiazui Coffee Festival, together with the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall, presented a Shanghai language recitation sharing session called "Poetry and Joy". Famous Shanghai opera performer Mao Shanyu, renowned performer Qiao Zhen, Shanghai Pingtan Troupe first-class actress Zhu Lin, and host Xiaolin attended as recitation guests. The crowd recited the Moyun chapter in Shanghai dialect, writing a gentle footnote for the daily life of the East. The rhythm of Shanghai dialect and poetry interweave at this moment, with gentle and fluctuating tones echoing slowly in the century old carved tower of Chen Guichun's old house, located deep in the green forest in the center of Lujiazui.
A book in hand, walking along the fragrance
As an important part of the Spring Coffee Festival's cultural, commercial, sports, and tourism linkage, the "Journey to Lu" Lujiazui Full Area Pass was officially released during this event, inspired by ancient travel notes and written in today's Lujiazui. A booklet in hand, following the fragrance, covering the main venue of the coffee festival, Shanghai Guojin Center Shopping Mall IFC, Zhengda Square, Shangyue Bay, 96 Square, 1862 Fashion Art Center, Zhendan Art Museum and other shopping malls and art and cultural institutions. Holders of the certificate can enjoy exclusive discounts, parking discounts, limited access and other benefits.
As the owner of Coflix Chuanxing Coffee brand, Tutu, who has been involved for many years, has a special emotional attachment to the Lujiazui Coffee Festival. A few years ago, Coflix Chuanxing Coffee launched the highly topical "Beef Plate Coffee" for the first time at the Lujiazui Coffee Festival, blending the local flavor of Shijiazhuang with premium coffee and attracting more attention to the innovative expression of "local flavor+coffee".
"Over the years, Lujiazui Coffee Festival has long been more than just a coffee market, but also a platform for cultural co creation." Rabbit told reporters, "especially this spring festival, tea, Kunqu Opera, China-Chic and oriental artifacts are naturally integrated, more relaxed and more daily.".
In her opinion, Chinese coffee culture is becoming more mature. Young people are no longer just pursuing a cup of coffee, but a way of life. The spring session of the Lujiazui Coffee Festival is like bringing Eastern culture back into the daily lives of contemporary young people
Starting with spring, let's make a promise to go to the new decade
The 11th Lujiazui Coffee Culture Festival is a new starting point for the new decade. The reporter learned that after the spring special event of Lujiazui International Coffee Culture Festival, the first Senlan International Coffee and Wine Festival and the first Zhangjiang Future Life Festival will also be held this year. The 11th Lujiazui International Coffee Culture Festival will grandly debut in autumn from October 19th to 25th. "Spring and autumn echo each other: the autumn fair gathers global coffee cutting-edge expressions, and the spring fair enables coffee and China-Chic cultural shops to develop an elegant picture of oriental beauty," said the relevant person in charge of the sponsor.
Over the past decade, the Lujiazui Coffee Culture Festival has not only brought premium coffee from around the world to Shanghai, but also made Shanghai an indispensable eastern coordinate on the world coffee map. In the future, Lujiazui will continue to be linked by coffee and tea, making it not only a world financial city, but also a warm coffee and cultural city.
Original title: "When Coffee Meets the Beauty of Kunqu Opera, Lujiazui Coffee Culture Festival Debuts Spring Special Event"
Column Editor: Gu Yingying
Author: Song Ninghua from Xinmin Evening News