The fifth Liaoyuan Pipa Culture and Art Week is set to open in August. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

April 23 marks the 100-day countdown to the 2024 Liaoyuan Pipa Culture and Art Week, along with the fifth "Liaoyuan Cup" Pipa Art Elite Exhibition, which will be held in Liaoyuan city, Northeast China's Jilin province, from Aug 1 to 5.

The National Ethnic Orchestra Society and the Ministry of Culture have recognized Liaoyuan as the "Hometown of the Chinese Pipa". The Xianshun Pipa School is acknowledged as a "National Pipa Training Base" and a "National Cultural Industry Demonstration Base", with its principal, Zhou Xianshun, honored as a national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor. In 2012, during the inaugural Liaoyuan Pipa Culture and Art Week, 2012 pipa players came together to achieve a Guinness World Record for the "largest pipa ensemble".

Liaoyuan's pipa performances have been showcased globally at events like the Beijing Olympics countdown celebration, the 40th anniversary of Sino-Austrian diplomatic relations at Vienna's Golden Hall, the 65th anniversary of Sino-Mongolian diplomatic relations, and the 2020 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

Liaoyuan Pipa Culture and Art Week and the "Liaoyuan Cup" Pipa Art Elite Exhibition, held every three years, are esteemed cultural events in the pipa industry. They are curated by Liaoyuan city and the Chinese National Ethnic Orchestra Society's Pipa Professional Committee. Liaoyuan has emerged as a revered hub for pipa enthusiasts, with the Xianshun Pipa School nurturing over 700 pipa professionals and more than 10,000 students.