Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Week 2026@Chengdu will feature an additional highlight - Zuni Icosahedron's multimedia production "Jin Yong Xiqu Theatre - The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" - from September 11 to 13 at the Drama Hall of the Chengdu City Concert Hall in Sichuan Province. Led by Artistic Director of Zuni Icosahedron Mathias Woo, the production brings together renowned xiqu masters and emerging young talent. Winner of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award and Kunqu opera performing artist Kong Aiping will take the stage, making this performance not to be missed.
 
     "Jin Yong Xiqu Theatre - The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" is an authorised stage adaptation of Jin Yong's classic martial arts novel. Since its premiere in 2024, which was funded under the Arts Technology Funding Pilot Scheme by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the production has attracted wide attention and, in 2025, swept eight international awards, including the Grand Award at the East Creative Award International Creative Design Competition, the IDA International Design Silver Award, and the Kyoto Global Design Award, spanning the fields of visual communication, stage design, and cultural innovation. Following tours in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where the audiences responded enthusiastically to the performances, it now arrives in Chengdu, poised to ignite another wave of cultural excitement in wuxia and xiqu.

     The stage performance showcases young wusheng actor Ren Jiale as the "Nine Swords of the Lone Swordmaster"; Kong Aiping as the legendary "Invincible East"; and Hong Kong naamyam artist Yeung Kin-ping in "Rapping the World of Martial Arts". These reimagined Peking and Kunqu opera excerpts, enriched by naamyam rap, alongside light, imagery, and sound, vividly reframe the timeless characters of Jin Yong's epic.
 
     Woo is the director, artistic director and arts tech installation designer of the performance, fusing tradition with cutting-edge innovation. Kong is serving as a xiqu director, mentor and consultant, bringing profound Kunqu artistry to the production. Mentored by Kunqu opera maestros such as Zhang Xian, Zhang Jiqing and Zhang Yunpeng, Kong won the Orchid Award for Best Performance at the first Chinese Young Kunqu Opera Performer Exchange and the Kunqu Promotion Award co-organised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Ministry of Culture, among others. In 2025, she was selected as a representative bearer of Kunqu opera in the sixth batch of representative bearers of the national intangible cultural heritage.
 
     Tickets are now available for sale on Maoyan and Damai. For details, please visit the Hong Kong Week 2026@Chengdu website: www.hongkongweek.gov.hk/2026chengdu/en/programmes/the-smiling-proud-wanderer/.

     The Hong Kong Week 2026@Chengdu will run from September 4 to 20 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is supported by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Sichuan Province, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Chengdu Municipal People's Government Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Culture, Broadcast-TV, and Tourism as well as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Chengdu. For details of other fascinating programmes, please visit: www.hongkongweek.gov.hk.

Ends/Thursday, August 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:00

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