Younger generations keep live shows in demand

She says she often gets information through advertisements on the subway and Sina Weibo.

According to the report, in 2017, males were about 39 percent of the audience. Its proportion grew 5 percentage points last year.

Song Yuran, 24, an animation designer in Beijing, spent two weeks in London last year to watch plays, with tickets costing about 8,000 yuan. One of the plays, Hamilton, inspired him. "The body moves and eye contact between the actors and the audience, as well as the emotions aroused at the theater, were unforgettable."

He adds: "At another play, an actress was singing alone onstage. At the crux of that song, a beam of light came across her and hit the audience."

He plans to go again next year.

In September, the State Council, China's Cabinet, released a document to promote consumption. It encouraged more cultural products and services with a balance of prudential regulation and market access. The central government also invested 1.5 billion yuan in State-owned cultural enterprises last year, an increase of 25 percent than 2017.

Government subsidies were also given to support the production and promotion of domestic plays and the development of performance venues, as well as to boost consumption with reduced prices or discount coupons. The report says the business potential of culture and entertainment has grown alongside 528 million Chinese born between 1980 and 2009.