Offline shows have come back into people's lives, as the situation of COVID-19 containment in Beijing has been steady for a while. On this Saturday night, some leading theaters in the city, including the Beijing Poly Theatre, have staged their first official shows after over half-a-year's shutdown. Other venues have also resumed performances. Take a look. 

At this moment, a live public performance has finally returned to the Poly Theatre in Beijing. The venue has been closed since the end of January due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Out of the need to control and prevent COVID-19, the theater only sold 30 percent of its tickets--and they sold out in just one hour.

"I feel very excited. Since January when I last saw a show, it has been more than half a year now. It's really been a long time since I have been to a theater."

"It's my first time to watch an offline show since the pandemic. I'm very excited. I think it's quite fine if we go in this way - keeping a safe distance and sitting two seats apart from each other. Beijing is relatively safe now. Everyone needs to have their temperatures tested and show their health code scan. These are appropriate measures. I feel it's safe."

The theater started to prepare for the reopening in June and made several changes as the situation changed. Now it plans to make further adjustments.

FENG BAOKUN General Manager Beijing Poly Theatre "There will be some small-scale productions and shows. Under normal procedures, it takes at least two months to market and sell a show. After the reopening, as we need to present shows in a short amount of time, we'll make quick decisions and arrange shows that can be ready in a short time."

Elsewhere in smaller-scale venues, stand-up comedies are back for people who want to have a good laugh.

ICY Chief Operating Officer Danliren Comedy "We've re-started performances about two weeks ago. Because we can only have a limited number in the audience for each show, we've increased the number of shows. Tickets are very popular and often sell out in one or two days. The team jokes that we are taking revenge on the pandemic by putting on so many shows. There is just too much pressure and too many emotions to be released, for both the audiences and the team."

As Feng of the Beijing Poly Theatre says, the performance sector in China has started to go through an initial recovery. Hopefully, after a period of steady development, the market and the entertainment options for people here will return to normal.