City as an Immersive Theater - An Exploration of the Paths of City Renewal and
the Immersive Theater Festival in Macao
Chen Beiyao Zhang Zhaoxia
Abstract: Guided by the concept of the "People's City", this study explores how Macao can draw onthe successful experience of the Avignon Festival in France to create an immersive city-theatre withboth Chinese and local characteristics. In recent years, Macao has made notable progress in culturalheritage preservation, city branding, and the diversification of its cultural industry. The preservation ofits historic districts and the city's unique advantage as a site of cultural convergence between East andWest have provided a solid foundation for cultural innovation. Moreover, the EconomicDiversification Development Plan of the Macao SAR (2024-2028) has explicitly brought the culturalindustry into the "1+4" strategic framework, further clarifying development goals and policy support.Methodologically, this study adopts a combination of comparative analysis and case study approaches,focusing on four dimensions: community theatre operations, digital technology empowerment,enhancement of educational functions, and the deepening of cultural-tourism integration. The findingssuggest that Macao has not only the feasibility of introducing immersive models into cultural industrytransformation, but also the potential to achieve diversified cultural consumption and higher socialparticipation through dual services for residents and tourists as well. By drawing upon the experienceof Avignon, Macao is expected to develop its own distinctive path, promoting the high-qualitytransformation of its cultural industry while better implementing the "people-centered" developmentstrategy and enriching the practical connotations of the "People's City".
Keywords:Immersive Theatre; Avignon Festival; People's City; Cultural Tourism
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