The performing arts economy in Qingdao is emerging as a new way to bolster the integration of culture and tourism, and stimulate urban consumption while a wide range of commercial activities from tourist performances, theater performances, music festivals, live-action dramas to comic performances are increasingly sought after. According to official statistics, Qingdao in 2025 hosted 34 large-scale performances, delivering musical feasts to more than 800,000 fans. In the year to date, Qingdao has initially planned to host 67 large-scale performances, nearly double from last year. The total number of audiences is expected to surge by about 50% year on year to around 1.2 million.

Furthermore, Qingdao has succeeded in bidding for the 2027 China Performing Arts Trade Fair. This marks that Qingdao is steadily marching ahead toward the goal of pivoting from a popular destination for watching performance to a hub of industrial resources and an industrial pacesetter in China’s performing arts industry landscape and emerging as a promising market in the national performing arts economy.

Qingdao has also taken the lead in China in establishing a set of quick response mechanisms to facilitate the development of the performing arts economy. More than 800 merchants in Qingdao have joined the ticket-stub economic union. Audiences merely need to present ticket stubs to enjoy discounts and services in a range of business activities from sightseeing in scenic areas, starred hotels, cultural museums or venues to special catering. As a result, traffic stemming from watching performing arts can translate smoothly into citywide consumption.