Xinjiang People's Theater

Xinjiang People's Theater

The Xinjiang People's Theater is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Xinjiang People's Theater, located in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is a cinema and theater complex. Covering a site area of 14,000 square meters, the three-story structure has a built-up area of 9,880 square meters.

The Xinjiang People's Theater is a grand cultural building in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that features unique Eurasian ethnic characteristics. It has now become a multi-functional, multi-hall luxury theater and entertainment venue equipped with the most advanced facilities in Xinjiang, offering a comfortable and elegant environment. In the near future, the theater will truly become a large-scale cultural and artistic entertainment center with distinctive ethnic features in the regional capital city.

The Xinjiang People's Theater is a high-quality public cultural facility at the autonomous region level, serving as a landmark in the capital city. It boasts a unique Eurasian architectural style and ethnic characteristics. Covering a site area of 14,000 square meters and a built-up area of 9,289 square meters, the theater was initiated for construction by the Construction Engineering Corps in August 1955, completed in mid-December 1956, and grandly inaugurated on January 7, 1957. Its completion provided an important venue for the political and cultural life of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

From its groundbreaking in August 1955 to its completion in mid-December 1956, and through its grand inauguration in January 1957, the People's Theater has traversed nearly half a century of glorious history. It has successfully fulfilled various major tasks assigned by the Party committees and governments, while also making significant contributions to the flourishing of the autonomous region’s cultural and artistic endeavors and enriching the cultural lives of people of all ethnicities. From the 1950s to the early 1980s, the People's Theater served as the main venue for successive Party congresses, people’s congresses, and CPPCC meetings in the autonomous region. Many leaders of the Party, state, and the autonomous region—including Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Dong Biwu, Chen Yi, He Long, -- Bang, Wang Zhen, Wang Enmao, Seypidin, and --—attended important meetings or watched performances of Xinjiang ethnic song and dance at the theater. Over the past nearly half-century, the theater has hosted over 3,000 performances by renowned domestic and international art troupes. These include Russian folk song and dance troupes and ballet companies, the Brigham Young University Art Delegation from the United States, Romanian folk song and dance troupes, the Turkish National Art Troupe, as well as China’s Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, the Central Symphony Orchestra, and cultural exchange art troupes from various provinces. All editions of the Xinjiang Minority Ethnic Tune Performances and the Xinjiang Art Festival have been held at the People's Theater. The theater has promoted cultural and artistic exchanges between Xinjiang and other countries and regions, establishing a platform for Xinjiang’s ethnic culture and arts to reach the world.

The nearly 1,000-square-meter square in front of the theater features flowers, green spaces, and a large dry-type colored-light fountain. It not only frequently hosts important social events but also provides a leisure space for people of all ethnicities. The beautiful environment adds a striking attraction to the city.

In May 2013, the Xinjiang People's Theater was listed as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units