Celebrating Kangqiao's cultural heritage

An original dance drama to honor intangible cultural heritage kicked off the 18th cultural festival of Kangqiao Town in the Pudong New Area on Friday.

Through November, a wide range of cultural activities will be held, including theater performances, music shows and photography exhibitions.

“We hope to explore Kangqiao’s culture and enrich our people’s lives,” said Xie Jun, Party chief of the township government.

On Friday night, an original dance drama showing Pudong-style pipa, a vertical bamboo flute which has been listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage, was held at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.

It tells stories of Pudong-style pipa players, combining their personal lives to the social vicissitudes to show how hard it is to pass on the tradition. It was performed by young dancers from the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Kangqiao is where Pudong-style pipa originated. To maintain the cultural tradition, the township government started a biennial pipa competition in 2008.

What began with just tens of participants has grown to more than 1,000 from nearly 20 cities and provinces across the country.