[Reporter Lin Xinying/Report from Taipei] Mirror News broadcast live the 2026 Tainan Renaissance Movement "Shamei Art Festival", bringing Tainan opera and table culture to YouTube for five consecutive nights. Up to 16,000 people watched the stage performance online at the same time. The popularity of the live broadcast increased in parallel with the crowds at the venue. The event came to a successful conclusion yesterday (22nd), attracting a large influx of people. On the 19th, the number of visitors was about 50,000, and on the 20th, the number of people watching the theater exceeded 70,000. In addition to obtaining the exclusive broadcast rights, the broadcast team broadcast the entire stage performance live, and also sent anchors Pan Zhaowen, Wang Xianyu, Wang Yuefang, and Mirror Weekly senior judicial reporter Lin Junhong to the scene. Through "Mirror After Hours" for many nights, they covered everything from the stage to the desk to behind-the-scenes footage, completely recording the traditional cultural upsurge that caused the entire Taiwan to pay attention to this accident.
On the table day of the Huimei Art Festival, Mirror News anchors Wang Yuefang (from left), Wang Xianyu, Pan Zhaowen and Mirror Weekly senior judicial reporter Lin Junhong tasted the grand Tainan table dishes. (Courtesy of Mirror TV)
In order to allow the audience to not only "see" but also feel the lively atmosphere of the Ximei Art Festival, the Mirror News broadcast team was stationed at the scene long before the event started. Pan Zhaowen revealed that before the live broadcast of "After Hours Mirror", the team arrived at the scene at 4 p.m. In addition to being familiar with the stage, food trucks and market locations, they also confirmed the content of the follow-up connections with the interviewees one by one. The real hard work was done by the Mirror News broadcast team. This time, a total of 2 groups of directors, 5 photographers and multiple staff members were sent to set up machines early in the morning and rehearse under the scorching sun at noon. Even though they were sweating like rain, they still stayed at their posts and could only use the break to go to the toilet and drink water. "Everyone is working hard and I just hope that every live broadcast can be completed smoothly."
Please read on...
Staying at the scene for many nights in a row, the anchors also witnessed with their own eyes how the Ximei Art Festival gradually transformed from an Internet topic to a cultural event attended by a large number of people. Wang Xianyu said that when she heard about the "Shamei Table", she thought it was just a small event. Unexpectedly, registrations were so enthusiastic that the organizers even had to plan the event into different forms such as picnics and table settings to accommodate the large number of people and theater fans. On the 20th, the number of people watching the show exceeded 70,000, which made him admire the cohesion of Taiwanese people, especially Tainan people.
Working at the desk has also become an unforgettable experience for the anchors during this interview. As a southerner, Wang Yuefang is no stranger to table cooking. When she saw the dishes on the table, she couldn't help but exclaimed, "It completely subverted my idea of table cooking." Wang Xianyu said with a smile that the Tainan people's table cooking is "unparalleled in the world" and the dishes are so plentiful that "a person must have at least three stomachs to finish it." Pan Zhaowen was also shocked by the exquisite and sumptuous dishes on the table, and exclaimed, "It turns out Tainan people are so domineering!" She also laughed and said that she has really felt the enthusiasm of Tainan people these days, "Tainan people say they will treat you to a meal, it is true; Tainan people want to treat you to the theater, it is true; Tainan people do what they say."
In addition to the crowds at the venue, the Mirror News YouTube live broadcast also attracted a large number of viewers to participate simultaneously. Especially during the performance of "Bao Gong Guan Chen Shimei" on September 20, the number of people online at the same time reached 16,000, and the cumulative number of views in five days exceeded 700,000. Pan Zhaowen shared that the most touching thing for her was the comments left by netizens on Threads after the live broadcast. One Japanese netizen specifically mentioned that the Mirror News broadcast was accompanied by Chinese subtitles, so that he could understand the opera content. Another netizen shared a photo of his grandma sitting at home watching the live broadcast of the Mirror News Gezai opera. She praised that she could watch the opera without leaving the house and discuss the plot with her family. "Seeing these messages, I feel that our efforts have paid off!"
Watching Puppet Opera and Gezi Opera up close for many nights in a row also allowed the anchors to feel the charm of traditional opera again. Pan Zhaowen said that the performance brought back memories of watching operas with her grandma when she was a child. She was even more happy to see a "Renaissance" in Taiwan, allowing everyone to re-enter the embrace of opera. From the audience in front of the stage to the live broadcast audience in front of the camera, traditional opera has reconnected with the new generation through different ways, and has become the most impressive scenery of this Art Festival.
Mirror News anchors Wang Xianyu and Wang Yuefang partnered for an interview, and the live broadcast was even more exciting. (Provided by Mirror TV)
The "complementarity" between anchor partners has also become a highlight of the live broadcast of "After Hours Mirror". Wang Hsien-yu admitted that she only knows "national curse" and "pak-tóo-iau (hungry)" in Taiwanese. Fortunately, Wang Yuefang, who is fluent in Taiwanese, was there to support her. Wang Yuefang laughed and said that most of the Taiwanese drama troupe performs in Taiwanese, so she is responsible for the Taiwanese language collection. During the interview, when I met the French chef, Wang Xianyu, who was fluent in English, was responsible for the interview and interpretation. "It's not about competing to be the protagonist in every show, but it depends on what the scene needs, and whoever is suitable will be on it." The two sang together, which also added a lot of sparks to the live broadcast.
Mirror News’ participation in the Mei Arts Festival not only fully recorded the crowds at the scene, but also allowed viewers who could not attend the event in person to participate through live broadcast. The content of the five-night stage performance will be broadcast on the Mirror News YouTube channel within one month after the event, allowing viewers who were unable to attend the event to relive the lively scene of this Tainan cultural event online.
