New opportunities

More people are also traveling to attend shows, which has triggered rapid growth in consumption.

For example, Mailive launched a series of performances in 2019 and last year, which were staged nationwide at non-traditional venues such as outdoor arenas. More than 100 performances were held in over 20 Chinese cities, and the report said 40 percent of the tickets were bought by audience members who traveled to watch shows.

You Jia showed charts for the most popular shows in the country during these two years, with overseas productions the top choice in 2019.

However, since the pandemic emerged, there have been new opportunities for original Chinese shows.

"We updated our system, enabling audiences to rate the shows they watch. We found that people are willing to pay for high-quality performances, which means we need to produce good content for them, such as first-class stories, stage sets and a great experience in going to theaters," You said.

Li Jie, vice-president of Alibaba Group and of Damai, said that during the past two months, he has watched a total of four plays and musicals, which were proof of the country's vibrant performing arts scene.

One of the most popular plays is Deling and Cixi, which began a nationwide tour in Tianjin on March 11. The production has also been staged in Shanghai and Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, and will visit more cities this year, according to Deng Ran, its executive producer and production manager.

Starring Jiang Shan and Zheng Yunlong, the play was written by He Jiping and centers on Princess Deling and Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In 1998, the production premiered at the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, and in 2019, it was restaged by Tianjin People's Arts Theater.

Deng said the play has been staged 25 times nationwide since 2019, but due to the pandemic, a tour last year had to be canceled.

"Tickets sold out fast when we announced the play would tour this year," Deng said, adding that when it was staged at Shanghai Grand Theater from March 19 to 23, it was the first theatrical production in the city to have a full house since the onset of the pandemic last year.

"I remember that a father and his son came to watch the play. They sat together and I could see them enjoying it from the control room. It was touching to see families return to theaters together," Deng said.