On October 26, 2024, the opening ceremony of the Guilin Arts Festival and the inaugural Ouyang Yuqian Drama Awards took place in Guilin, Guangxi. The Hong Kong Cantonese musical “The Great Judge Wang” took home two top honors: Best Production and Best Actor.

During the event, the Best Production award was shared by the musical “The Great Judge Wang” and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center’s play “Dream of the Red Chamber.” Ouyang Yuqian, the first president of the Central Academy of Drama, was known for her efforts in developing a dramatic movement in the region, particularly through the “Southwest Theatre Exhibition” held in Guilin. Hao Rong, the director of the Guilin Arts Festival organizing committee and the current president of the Central Academy of Drama, stated that to honor Ouyang Yuqian’s artistic achievements and recognize outstanding contributions by young theatre practitioners to the development of Chinese drama, the academy established the Ouyang Yuqian Drama Award, which will be awarded every two years.

After comprehensive evaluations by the organizing committee, the awards were announced: the play “The Courtroom” earned the Best Playwright award for its writer Zhu Hongxuan; Zheng Junzhi received the Best Actor award for “The Great Judge Wang”; Xin Zhilei was named Best Actress for her role in “Preliminary Evidence”; and Wu Fang was recognized with the Best Performance Design award for the Huangmei Opera “Dance Costume.”

The 2024 Guilin Arts Festival, themed “Looking Back and Moving Forward,” spans nine days and features a diverse lineup of 48 performances from theater artists representing various countries, including China, Sweden, Australia, South Korea, Italy, and the United Kingdom.