Monkey King culture week returns in May as iconic TV series turns 40

The 2026 China Monkey Mountain Monkey King Competition and second Great Sage Cultural Arts Week will be held in May, organizers announced in Beijing on Thursday, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the premiere of "Journey to the West," China's most watched television series.

Actor Liu Xiaolingtong, organizers and local leaders from Jiyuan, Henan province, launch the 2026 China Monkey Mountain Monkey King Competition and second Great Sage Cultural Arts Week in Beijing, April 16, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The event will run from May 19 to 24 in Jiyuan, Henan province. Liu Xiaolingtong, who played the Monkey King in the series and serves as Jiyuan's public welfare cultural tourism ambassador, said visiting the city always feels like "returning to the Monkey King's home."

He noted that the Wulongkou Scenic Area in Jiyuan is home to more than 4,000 wild macaques, the northernmost population at this latitude. The site's conservation efforts, he said, have become deeply intertwined with his own family's four generations of monkey opera artistry.

"Wulongkou Scenic Area, known as 'China's Monkey Mountain,' is not just a name — it is a warm cultural home for the 'Journey to the West' classic," he said.

Organizers chose the China National Botanical Garden as the venue for the press event because it served as one of the original filming locations for the series. Related archival photos were also displayed at the event.

The series first aired in 1986 and has been rebroadcast on various TV channels every year since, accumulating more than 4,000 airings and becoming a shared childhood memory for generations of viewers.

The culture week, centered on the themes of honoring the classic, inheritance and innovation, and the integration of culture and tourism, plans to link "Journey to the West"-themed scenic spots across more than 10 provinces to promote coordinated cultural tourism development.

Plans include a "Journey to the West" short drama series with Liu serving as chief director, with scripts to be solicited nationwide. An artistic symposium honoring original director Yang Jie will also be held.

Li Huilin, deputy director of the Jiyuan Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, said the event aims to revisit the classic, draw public attention to ecology and nature, and promote China's traditional culture.

Monkey King actors from three opera schools pose for a photo at the press event for the 2026 China Monkey Mountain Monkey King Competition and second Great Sage Cultural Arts Week in Beijing, April 16, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

"We hope that by commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1986 TV version of 'Journey to the West,' we can ignite the creative passion of more artists, inspire more and better film and television works, provide the public with more and higher-quality spiritual nourishment, and thereby promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture," Li said.

"We also look forward to seeing the Monkey Kings from five major opera genres compete on the same stage, allowing Liu Xiaolingtong's artistic dedication to become the common pursuit of artists, thus attracting more young art practitioners to devote themselves to the art of opera performance," he added.

Organizers said this year's competition will accept contestants from across China and overseas in three categories: professional, amateur and children. Liu will lead the judging panel. Registration is now open.

Monkey opera masters representing five major opera traditions — Henan, Peking, Shao, Shanxi and Shandong Liuzi — will perform at the Jiyuan Jishui Changge Fashion Lifestyle District by Longquan Lake.

The country's first "Journey to the West" cultural and creative industrial park will also be inaugurated during the event, extending the franchise into merchandise, performances and tourism.

On the sidelines of the press conference, the China National Botanical Garden and the Jiyuan Wulongkou Scenic Area signed a cooperation agreement to jointly explore a development model linking biodiversity protection, cultural outreach and cultural tourism, using "Journey to the West" as a unifying theme.