The “15th Five-Year Plan” for a hundred music and art public performances was announced, with the global launch of the “Fire of the Chinese People” ethnic cultural brand.
On September 28, 2026, at the second-floor multifunctional hall of the Media Center of China Central Radio and Television, the press conference for the ‘Singing the New Era: Fire of the Chinese People’ folk music art public performance and the global launch ceremony of the Fire of Light ethnic cultural brand took place. At the meeting, the ‘Fire of the Chinese People’ brand officially launched the ‘Fire of Light’ ethnic cultural IP and announced the mid-to-long-term plan to complete 100 music and art public performances both domestically and overseas during the 15th Five-Year Plan. From the countryside stage to the world stage, this ‘Cultural Long March’, which began in 2012, has taken a new step forward.
A Flame that Has Burned for Fourteen Years
The ‘Fire of the Chinese People’ brand originated in 2012, initiated by Mr. Liu Liguo and nearly a hundred well-known artists in the country, aiming to promote folk music art public performances. Over the years, this activity has consistently adhered to the concept that ‘art comes from the people and serves the people’, without high thresholds, commercial auditions, or registration fees, focusing on discovering, recording, and supporting folk music talents scattered in the countryside.
Over fourteen years, the project has established local liaison workstations in more than a dozen provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, reaching revolutionary old areas, ethnic minority villages, town communities, industrial areas, and welfare institutions, accumulating over a hundred performances, regional selections, and city report performances; organizing volunteers and artistic teams to delve into mountains, grasslands, and water towns to record audio and video of endangered local folk songs, suona, bamboo music, fishing songs, mouth harp, ethnic minority folk tunes, and traditional wind and percussion music, establishing a folk music material archive to preserve first-hand materials for future inheritance.
After fourteen years of deep cultivation, the data is the best testament: over 620 grassroots music talents have been discovered and connected, and more than ten thousand folk music artists have been recommended to the organizing committee; after screening, over 200 folk music art talents have been formally included in the ‘Folk Music Art Public Talent Archive’, receiving support for performances and key dissemination, including hundreds of inheritors of various intangible cultural heritage music projects, ethnic minority folk singers, rural music band artists, disabled art enthusiasts, and grassroots original musicians. Many have never performed on a big stage in their lives and were seen and respected for the first time through this platform, allowing many local music genres and ancient tunes to return to the public eye.
Old artists often expressed, ‘Art belongs to the people, and the folk has the most touching voices. What we need to do is not to hold a lively event, but to provide long-term protection.’
A Hundred Concerts: Grassroots Engagement and Global Outreach
At the press conference, the core mid-to-long-term plan was officially announced: during the 15th Five-Year Plan, it is planned to complete 100 music and art public performances both domestically and overseas, divided into two main sections: ‘Grassroots Engagement: Cultural Benefits for the People’ and ‘Global Outreach: Civilizational Exchange’, to be advanced in an orderly manner.
The domestic section will adhere to its public welfare attributes, bringing the stage to communities, villages, old areas, and ethnic minority regions, focusing on discovering original folk songs, traditional instruments, intangible cultural heritage music, and grassroots original works, providing a platform for farmer singers, folk musicians, grassroots art enthusiasts, and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage to showcase their talents; simultaneously supporting folk music collection and recording, artistic public welfare assistance, and local cultural tourism integration promotion, allowing excellent traditional arts to thrive and pass down in the countryside, solidifying the cultural confidence of the masses.
The overseas section will orderly carry out international folk art exchanges relying on public welfare performance platforms, telling real and vivid Chinese stories through folk music that is easy to understand and rich in Eastern charm; adhering to the principle of ‘each beauty complements the other’, using music as a bridge to promote mutual understanding between Chinese and foreign people, conveying the voices and warmth from Chinese folk culture to the world, and enhancing the international dissemination and influence of excellent Chinese folk culture.
In conjunction, the press conference launched a series of actions: a long-term national collection plan for building a folk music talent database; a cultural symbol system of ‘Fire of the Chinese People: Fire of Light’ based on brand clothing badges, themed cultural creations, thematic music videos, and documentary short video matrices; widely uniting the artistic community, public welfare sector, and patriotic cultural figures at home and abroad for collaborative construction; and encouraging creators to root themselves in the countryside, engage with the times, and celebrate the country, the people, and the new era through thematic creations, ensuring the sustainability and continuity of this public welfare project.
The Badge of Honor: The ‘Yan Huang’ Narrative of Dual Flames
The ‘Fire of the Chinese People: Fire of Light’ badge presented at the press conference crystallizes the brand spirit into a tangible symbol. The two characters ‘Fire’ are stacked, forming ‘Yan’, tracing back to the Yan Huang lineage, symbolizing the shared spiritual imprint of being descendants of Yan and Huang, and children of China. The badge is sculpted in pure gold with the five characters ‘Fire of the Chinese People’; at the center, a dancer’s figure is carved from gemstone-grade material, meticulously polished with 56 facets, representing the unity of the 56 ethnic groups; the outer circle is a pure gold ring inlaid with 29 natural diamonds, symbolizing family reunion and unity of the world, with ‘2’ representing harmony and unity, and ‘9’ as the number of utmost positivity, embodying the beautiful wish for long-lasting foundations and enduring national fortunes.
One flame carries the original intention, and one flame ignites a new journey. The dual flames merge and continue endlessly, embodying both the profound heritage of thousands of years of Chinese culture and the vibrant energy of the new era, condensing the cultural connotations of ethnic lineage, national reunion, and the unity of the 56 ethnic groups into a small golden badge.
The Cultural Long March Has Just Begun
‘Cultural awareness is the foundation, cultural confidence is the strength, and cultural outreach is the responsibility. What we are doing is not a short-term event, but a cultural long march. From the countryside to the world, we hope to let the artistic fire hidden in the common people be seen and ignited; to let the voices that originate from the folk and belong to the nation step out of the country, allowing the world to hear the real and vivid China,’ said initiator Liu Liguo at the press conference.
Guests from the artistic community present jointly advocated: New era artists should uphold their original intentions, root themselves in the grassroots, and focus more on the vast grassroots; promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture through integrity and innovation, and practice cultural missions through tangible public welfare actions.
‘Fire of the Chinese People: Fire of Light’ will take this event in partnership with World Headlines as a new starting point for global launch, steadily advancing the schedule for a hundred public performances, conveying warmth through music and consolidating strength through culture, striving to contribute the power of folk art to the construction of a strong socialist cultural nation and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese dream.
