The 3rd Liyuan Comedy Festival was held on Zhongshan Road, Qingdao, with over 1,000 performances bringing an immersive experience

China News Service, Qingdao, September 27 (Wang Yu, Zhang Xiaopeng) During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the century-old Zhongshan Road in Qingdao, Shandong Province is particularly lively. The third (2026) Liyuan Comedy Festival is being held here.

This year's comedy festival takes "surprises step by step" as its theme, and takes advantage of the architectural features of the courtyard of "connected courtyards and criss-crossing streets" to build a three-dimensional viewing layout of "block + theater + courtyard". Comedy groups from home and abroad presented more than 1,000 performances, bringing an immersive performance experience to citizens and tourists.

An Italian actor used a guitar with pots and pans to create the sound effects of a complete band; in the Cuban rhythm comedy "Mophead Daydream", an actor played a mop as a saxophone, and ordinary tools of sanitation workers turned into percussion instruments... During the comedy festival, artists from France, Denmark, Canada, Australia and other countries and regions roamed the streets and delivered joy to the audience.

On September 19, in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Italian actor Galiro performed street comedy at the Liyuan Comedy Festival. (Photo courtesy of the organizer)

"This is a comedy festival in the streets. There are all kinds of comedies on the streets with no threshold for viewing. Audiences can watch special performances in the theater or blind box shows on the streets." Huang Bo, founder of the Liyuan Comedy Festival and an actor from Qingdao, Shandong, believes that compared with traditional comedy festivals, this form is more relaxed and casual.

When theater director Meng Jinghui visited the Liyuan Comedy Festival, he expressed his unique feelings about this century-old neighborhood: "In addition to being down-to-earth, it also has a sense of history." He said that it is the sense of history generated by these old buildings that are "invisible" that shortens the distance between time, space and each other.

Huang Bo said that comedy is a common language for mankind, and language barriers can be overcome with body and expression alone. This year's comedy festival brings together performing arts teams from many countries, which not only enriches the audience's viewing experience, but also provides opportunities for domestic comedy practitioners to learn and communicate. (over)