More than nine hundred years ago, Su Dongpo was exiled to Qiongdao (Hainan) and regarded Hainan as a refuge for his soul; more than nine hundred years later, this national-style musical born in Hainan, carrying the philosophical thought that “Wherever my heart is at peace, that is my hometown,” is traveling across the country.

From September 3 to 12, the national-style musical ” Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo,” guided by the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, and the People’s Government of Chengmai County, and produced by the Hainan Performing Arts Group, visited three cities—Xiamen, Changsha, and Shenzhen—marking a six cross-provincial tour performances. The three-city tour received enthusiastic audience response. This tour was not only a market breakthrough for Hainan’s original stage art, but also, through the innovative creation of a new model of drama-tourism integration—”Dongpo performance + tourism promotion + ticket stub economy”—blazed a new path for Hainan’s local cultural and artistic works to reach the whole country.

Three years of creative polishing, receiving enthusiastic responses. Since 2023, the Hainan Performing Arts Group has launched the creation of the “Dongpo Performance Trilogy,” successively presenting the poetry-dance-music performance “The Ageless Dongpo,” the immersive cultural tourism performance “Dongpo the Icon,” and finally completing “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo.” As a key work of the trilogy and a tribute to the island-wide special customs operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the script of this musical was polished through more than thirty drafts, and the creative team made multiple in-depth field visits to Danzhou and Chengmai to recreate a three-dimensional and full-bodied exiled Dongpo.

The production brings together a first-class domestic creative team, with award-winning director Zhao Jingsheng serving as chief director, lyricist Qingfeng (pen name) as chief screenwriter, and renowned composers Zhang Qu, Qian Lei, Wang Yanmei, and others jointly composing the music. In terms of the cast, there are both national musical theater powerhouses such as Xia Zhenkai and Jiang Qianru, as well as Hainan local performers such as Liao Yuwen and Zhao Yuan. The Haikou Art Troupe is responsible for the dance performance, blending national-level creative standards with Hainan’s local cultural expression.

The work focuses on Su Shi’s personal integrity and his sentiment of benefiting the world during his exile in Hainan, conveying the life philosophy that “where the heart is at peace, there is my home.” The entire musical features 19 original songs, with stage, costumes, and music incorporating distinctive Hainan elements, making the cultural heritage of Qiongzhou perceptible and accessible.

This tour innovated the model of “Dongpo performance + tourism promotion + ticket stub economy,” setting up four major functional sections in the theater lobby, carrying out diverse cultural tourism interactions, and attracting audiences to inquire about travel routes to Hainan. The promotion adopted a “provincial-level coordination, city and county linkage” model, with multiple cities and counties in Hainan participating together, displaying multiple themed travel routes and launching ready-made itineraries, realizing “after watching the show, you can book a route.” With the ticket stub of “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo,” audiences can, through the “Very Cool! Hainan” mini-program, receive consumption vouchers worth up to 300 yuan, redeem tickets for multiple scenic spots, and also choose one of 42 4A-rated and above scenic areas across the province for free admission. The benefits fully connect the consumption loop of “watching the performance—receiving vouchers—traveling.” A Shenzhen audience member posted on social media that after watching the show, they wanted to visit Hainan and walk the paths Su Dongpo once walked, expressing the sentiments of many audience members.

A relevant official from the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports stated: “Following Dongpo to tour Hainan, the musical ‘Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo’ toured Xiamen, Changsha, and Shenzhen for tour performances in early September. This time, the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports innovatively launched the new drama-tourism integration model of ‘Dongpo performance + tourism promotion + ticket stub economy.’ It is an innovative attempt in cultural tourism marketing and has achieved good results in attracting visitors and promoting consumption.”

The value of a musical goes beyond the two-plus hours of performance in the theater. The three-city tour of “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo” is a practice of Hainan’s productions moving from staying conservatively on the island to actively breaking out beyond it. Lin Shihao, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of the Hainan Performing Arts Group, stated that choosing Shenzhen as the final stop was a well-considered strategic move after deep consideration: Shenzhen is inclusive and open, fitting Su Dongpo’s situation of “taking a foreign land as hometown”; the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a frontier highland for performing arts consumption. Establishing a firm reputation here shows that “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo” already possesses the mature quality for a nationwide tour. It not only exports Hainan’s Dongpo cultural heritage and the humanistic elegance of the Free Trade Port externally, but also draws on the operational experience of the performing arts industry in first-tier cities, accumulating momentum for the international dissemination of Hainan culture. Han Chaoguang, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Hainan Performing Arts Group, believes that the “Dongpo Performance Trilogy” is a landmark project in Hainan’s advancement of building a strong cultural province. The creation of “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo” established the positioning of “rooted in the island, stepping out of Hainan, and facing the whole country.” Hainan needs to activate its dormant cultural resources into stage IPs that contemporary people can accept and empathize with. A good play is a cultural calling card and can also drive cultural tourism linkage. The trilogy is a starting point; taking “Peace of Mind: Su Dongpo” as a model, it is necessary to explore the path of “resources to IP, IP to products, products to industry,” accumulating experience for Hainan’s local cultural and artistic masterpieces to “go global.”

When the wind rises where the heart is at peace, cultural heritage faces the mountains and seas. As this round of three-city tours concludes, Hainan’s cultural and artistic exploration outward has only just begun. Using culture and art as a bridge, letting more people understand Hainan, and injecting new momentum into the enhancement of the Free Trade Port’s cultural soft power and the high-quality development of cultural tourism.