In a momentous event on Tuesday, the stage was set for the 2024 Guilin Arts Festival and the debut of the esteemed "Ouyang Yuqian Drama Award" as the news conference unfolded at the Dongcheng Campus of the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.

Scheduled to grace Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from Oct 26 to Nov 3, the 2024 Guilin Arts Festival will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Southwest Theater Exhibition under the resounding theme "Looking Back and Moving Forward". This year's festival will pay tribute to the trailblazing theatrical visionaries who played pivotal roles in China's triumph during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), drawing inspiration from historical valor to ignite a new cultural renaissance in the contemporary era.

Liu Xinglin, the artistic director of the Guilin Arts Festival and a professor at the Central Academy of Drama, unveiled the festival's thematic essence and key initiatives during the news conference.