China News Service, Quanzhou, October 5th. Title: Overseas Chinese relatives go home to watch movies for free: Familiarity with local accents awakens nostalgia.
China News Service reporter Sun Hong
In the past few days, the 2026 Southern Fujian Drama Week and the "Quanzhou Drama "Art" drama exhibition with the theme of "New Voices of Ancient Opera·Heritage of Maritime Silk Road" have continued in Quanzhou, Fujian, with more than 200 performances taking turns in the streets, theaters and squares of the ancient city.
"For overseas Hokkien residents, Hokkien opera is not only a performing art, but also a spiritual bond that expresses nostalgia and connects homesickness." Chang Ying, vice president of Japan's Quanzhou Chamber of Commerce, said in a recent interview with a reporter from China News Service that he was invited to return to his hometown to participate in the Southern Hokkien Drama Week activities. Hearing the familiar opera singing, he was very excited.
"My grandmother was a Gezi Opera actress, so I was influenced by the atmosphere of opera since I was a child. What impressed me most during my childhood was the stage during festivals, which was very lively." Chang Ying, who has lived overseas for 19 years, said, "The pace of life has been so fast these years, and there are almost no channels for exposure to local operas in southern Fujian such as Nanyin and Gezi Opera."
On the evening of September 24, the 2026 Southern Fujian Drama Week and the "Quanzhou Drama "Art" Drama Exhibition was launched in Quanzhou, Fujian. Multiple literary and artistic groups from across the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Singapore, the Philippines and other places performed Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, Puppet Show, Nanyin and other Hokkien dramas on the same stage. Photo by China News Service reporter Wang Dongming
As a famous "opera nest" at home and abroad, Quanzhou is an important birthplace and living heritage site of Southern Opera, giving birth to national and even world-class intangible cultural heritage treasures such as Liyuan Opera, String Puppetry, and Gaojia Opera. During the 2026 Southern Fujian Drama Week, which lasts until October 7, Quanzhou simultaneously launched the "Welcome Home" program for overseas Chinese, inviting overseas Chinese to return home to watch the theater for free and share their nostalgia.
For many overseas Chinese in Quanzhou, Southern Fujian drama has never been just a land and water; it is a cultural link spanning mountains and seas. "Southern Fujian opera carries the deep nostalgia of overseas Chinese and is the cultural root that we have constantly given up." Wang Rongzhong, founding president of the World Fujian Youth Filipino Federation, said that hearing a familiar spring tune evokes thousands of homesickness.
Cai Yongning, rotating chairman of the ASEAN Federation of Fujian Societies, said that he has been immersed in the cultural atmosphere of his hometown in southern Fujian since he was a child. Although he is overseas, every time he hears the melodious Nanyin singing, the lively scene of the theater in his hometown comes to mind. "No matter how far we travel, the sounds of ancient opera and local music can always evoke our infinite longing for our homeland."
On October 4, citizens and tourists watched a Liyuan Opera performed by children at Tianhou Palace in Quanzhou, Fujian. Photo by China News Service reporter Sun Hong
A Fujian opera meets a close friend, and a local tune connects the world. During this Southern Fujian Drama Week, many domestic and foreign Hokkien dramas were performed on the stage, including the "Silk Road Connection·Harmonious Symbiosis" Maritime Silk Road International Drama Exchange Special, the "Three Flowers Competition·Ugly Groups on the Stage" special group ugly performance, "Countrymen and Brothers" The "Music: Treasures from the South" special collection of classic excerpts from various operas won full applause. The Southern Fujian operas scattered all over the country met in the ancient city, and it also allowed overseas Chinese to find their cultural roots in the familiar local dialect and share their deep nostalgia.
"This time I came to Quanzhou to perform the Gezi opera "Fairy Furong". I was surrounded by familiar local accents and had a good interaction with the audience. I felt very friendly." said Cai Bixia, artistic director of the Singapore Traditional Arts Center, hoping to attract more young people to watch and fall in love with traditional Chinese opera.
It is understood that Quanzhou’s “Welcome Home” program for overseas Chinese will last until February 2027. During this period, overseas Chinese with valid certificates can enjoy multiple performance discounts and free reservation services. They can listen to a piece of Nanyin, watch a puppet, enjoy a pear orchard, and relive the memories of their hometown in the familiar local accent. (over)
