Department of Cultural Affairs

Culture is never still. It flows through time, moves across spaces, and is exchanged, responded to, and continuously generated between people.

In 2026, TCO (Taipei Chinese Orchestra) will present the 39th edition of the Taipei Traditional Arts Festival from March 22 to June 12. This cultural movement has continued without interruption for nearly four decades, staying with Taipei through changing times, and safeguarding and renewing the voice of Taiwan’s traditional arts within the rhythm of the city.

Looking back to the 1980s, when Taiwanese society was undergoing rapid transformation and urban life was accelerating, Taipei chose a “long-term curatorial approach” to establish a stable yet open pathway for traditional arts. From its first iteration in 1988, to its present-day status as the longest-running traditional arts festival in Taiwan, the Festival has not only witnessed an evolution in the works it presents, but has also seen how culture changes pace and continues to move forward.

The 39th edition is therefore a moment defined by “movement”: time is in motion, spaces are in motion, and human relationships are in motion, while culture flows continuously within them. Over three months, the TCO will present works ranging from song and music to dance and theatre and will continue to build Taiwan’s largest and longest-standing platform for traditional arts through both depth and innovation.

Movement of Time: Guan Gong from Memory into the Present

In March 2026, the Festival is opening with the epic orchestral work Guan Gong, not simply a concert themed on a historical and religious figure, but an act of time travel.

Based on a historical figure, Guan Gong does not remain fixed within an established image. Structured in nine movements, the work unfolds as a narrative in motion, carrying the character through phases of loyalty, decision, and emotion. Composed by Leung-fai Lo, whose musical language bridges traditional structure and contemporary thought, the work itself is in continuous movement between history and the present.

In the TCO interpretation, Guan Gong is not merely “re-presented,” but re-understood. History is no longer a fixed past, but a living cultural experience in dialogue with today’s audiences. The programme also includes Praise to Mazu Incense (lyrics by Ying Huang, music by Guan-ren Gu), a large-scale choral work, and Bwa̍h-pue (跋桮) by Tzu-ching Hsu, inspired by the ritual of divination blocks. This opening programme reflects the Festival’s core spirit: tradition moves through time rather than being frozen by it.

Movement of People—Generational Encounters on Stage

What has sustained the Festival for nearly 40 years is the continuous circulation of artists who enter, meet, and pass on their craft on stage. Since its founding in 1979, the TCO has played a central role in this process. Members change across generations, while music accumulates through the flow of experience and technique.

On stage in the 39th Festival, this trajectory of movement is clearly visible. Veteran musicians who have long shaped the Festival’s growth include erhu performers Hui-chun Chen and Shu-yin Zhang, pipa performer Wen-hsin Cheng, yangqin performer Yu-Feng Tsai, sheng performer Hsiu-jung Kuo, and percussionist Tsung-hsin Hsieh. Younger musicians who have progressed through competitions, training, and affiliated ensembles before taking on leading roles include erhu performers Chen-feng Lin, Meng-shan Wu, Wei Wang, suona performer Ting-chien Liu, and ruan performer Hsin-yu Ma. Also featured are outstanding artists and ensembles from around the world, including pipa performers Liang-xing Tang, Jing Yang, Ying Zhang, cellist Wen-sinn Yang, violinist Richard Lin, pianist Yi-chih Lu, and groups such as the Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe and Yi-Shin Taiwanese Opera Troupe, who continue to demonstrate their exceptional artistry, shaped over decades of experience and refinement, bringing their distinctive stage presence to Taipei audiences. 

Through programmes such as Masters (名家), TCO Stars (市國之星), Warm Magic Flight (溫馨飛魔力), and Colorful Traditional Arts (傳藝舞繽紛), performers of different ages and backgrounds appear together on the same stage: no merely symbolic transmission but an ongoing exchange.

This year’s participating musicians, artists, and performing groups form a strong lineup, including conductors Chun-quqan Qu, Li-pin Cheng, Hui-chang Yan, Yu-an Chang, Che-yi Lee, Kuang-yu Huang, Chen-hao Chiang, Shih-hsuan Chiu, and Ko-wei Lin; erhu performers Hui-chun Chen, Ying-chieh Wang, Meng-lan Kao, Chen-chi Huang, Chen-feng Lin, and Meng-shan Wu; dizi performers Yi-chun Lai and Hsin-ling Han; xiao performer Chung-shen Chen; suona performers Tzu-you Lin, Chiang-pin Liu, and Ting-chien Liu; pipa performers Liang-xing Tang, Jing Yang, Tao Zhou, and Ying Zhang; liuqin performer Ma Tsui-yu; yangqin performer Tsui-Yu Ma; percussionists Yin-chun Chen, Hsin Fang, and Yi-ta Hsu; violinist Richard Lin; cellist Wen-sinn Yang; pianist Yi-chih Lu; as well as the Taiwan Yangqin Development Association, Chai Found Music Workshop (緹華製研所), Taiwan Dizi and Xiao Association (臺灣笛簫協會), Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe, Yi-Shin Taiwanese Opera Troupe, Chai Found Music Workshop, Zi Yuan Opera Troupe, Subsidiary Troupe of Ming Hwa Yuan, the Ri Theatrical Troupe, Four Phases Zheng Ensemble, and Guruji Ensemble. This kind of movement is not replacement, but continuation; not farewell, but extension.

Movement of Space: From City Stages to the World

The Festival’s movement is also spatial. Performances take place across Taipei Zhongshan Hall, its concert and performance halls, outdoor plazas, and the National Concert Hall, where traditional arts move through the city and encounter different audiences. In 2026, this trajectory extends further into the world.

On June 3 and 4, the TCO will perform for the first time at the Berliner Philharmonie and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, followed by a performance at the Golden Hall in Vienna on June 7 which will mark the conclusion of the 39th Festival. 

This European tour is both closing chapter and the result of long-distance cultural movement. When the sound of Taiwanese orchestral music resonates in Berlin, Leipzig, and Vienna, it carries the accumulated cultural energy of a city. What begins as an export of cultural work turns into an encounter between cultures through performance, exchange, and live resonance, allowing audiences from different cultural backgrounds to experience the sounds of Taiwan. It is through such movement that culture generates new understanding.

In Motion, Unfinished

The 39th edition represents the depth of time and reminds us that the Festival has never stopped moving. It travels through time, moves across spaces, and builds connections between people.

In 2026, as Guan Gong sounds and the Golden Hall in Vienna resonates with music from Taipei, what we witness goes beyond mere beginnings and endings to become an ongoing cultural action. Traditional arts are continuously created in motion.