In recent years, stage design education has accelerated its shift from the classroom to the front lines of industry. On July 9, faculty and students from the Stage Design Department of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA) visited Yajiang Photoelectric for a full-day product technology training and hands-on learning experience. From industry trend forecasting to producthands-on practice, from digital color management seminars to smart manufacturing facility tours, Yajiang opened its doors wide, breaking down the wall between stage design education and the lighting industry.

Opening Ceremony: At the Forefront of Industry Transformation

At 9:00 AM, the opening ceremony was held in the first-floor multi-functional video center. Marketing Manager Li Zhifeng delivered the opening presentation titled "Trends in the Stage Lighting Industry." He mapped out the next five years of the industry along four major trajectories—intelligentization, content-technology synergy, green transformation, and immersive experiences: from XR virtual production to AI-assisted programming, from the coordinated growth of creative content and technical implementation to the widespread adoption of LED light sources, from carbon neutrality goals to immersive cultural tourism experiences. The core market driver, he noted, has shifted toward integrated solutions combining creative content and technical delivery—the era of simply stacking equipment is over.

"This is not just a technological revolution; it is a reimagining of artistic expression," Manager Li told the students. "The most sought-after talent in the future industry will be hybrid professionals who can both operate advanced equipment and understand artistic expression. The intersection of traditional Chinese theatre stage design and professional lighting engineering is a vast blue ocean."

Classroom: From Light-Color Principles to Hands-On Control

Following the opening ceremony, Fang Binhai, Stage Technology Application Supervisor in the Marketing Department, took over to lead the full day of professional courses. The session began with "Lighting Shows & Professional Stage Lighting Products," using four flagship series—Neptune, Pluto, Navigator, and Tuzi—as case studies to systematically unpack the principles of stage lighting color and effects logic. Core technologies including 10 selectable optical angles, triple-zoom structures, and M-Face optical glass rings were explained in detail.

After a tea break, students moved into hands-onhands-on practice with the BX5/BX4 series fixtures. Working in groups, they progressed from connection and programming to parameter adjustment and scene construction, with staff providing step-by-step guidance throughout.

Deep Dive: From Digital Color to Full-Chain Smart Manufacturing

The afternoon curriculum opened with an intensive session—an in-depth lecture on the "CCS Digital Color Processing System." From basic color calibration in 2011 to the AI-powered digital core of 2026, Yajiang has iterated its color management system to the eighth generation, achieving a leap in dimming precision from hundred-thousand-level to ten-million-level. Through live demonstrations of multi-fixture color consistency, abstract digital algorithms were transformed into tangible visual results.

Afterward, Li Yongli, Regional Business Director for North China, and Li Yan, Domestic Business Manager, led the group on a tour of the testing and inspection center and smart manufacturing production lines. From incoming component inspection to final assembly, from automated calibration tofinished product outbound—the complete lifecycle of a professional stage lighting fixture was laid out before the students. In the performance testing laboratory, Director Li explained common fixture testing procedures and industry standards on-site, giving the phrase "factory standards" real weight.

After another tea break, Director Li presented a case study titled "Technology-Powered Lighting for Opera Masterpieces: Practice and Exploration of Stage Lighting in the New Era." He first shared the collaboration with renowned lighting designer Zhou Zhengping. Addressing the pain points of traditional cyclorama lights—uneven light distribution and inability to precisely cut silhouettes—Yajiang partnered with the Zhou Zhengping Stage Design Mentor Studio at Zhejiang Vocational Academy of Art to co-develop the S one moving-head cyclorama cutter, bringing an unprecedented degree of spatial freedom to cyclorama presentation in Chinese opera. Another case came from the Yue opera "My Grand View Garden" , where lighting designer Xiao Lihe envisioned a surreal atmosphere of "memory and dreamscape," requiring characters and objects on stage to gradually fade from the audience's view. After rounds of iterativetesting between Yajiang and the designer, the "Vanishing Light" was born, achieving seamless transitions between real and surreal scenes. Director Li concluded by summing up Yajiang's philosophy: Walk with designers. Walk with creators.

At the end of the full-day program, Manager Li presented training certificates to all participating students.

Building the Future Through Light

A single fixture undergoes countless quality gates from R&D to delivery. A lighting designer travels an even longer road from the classroom to the stage. One day of immersive learning may be just a starting point, but it opens a new window—where the two rivers of Chinese opera stagecraft and lighting technology begin to converge.

When traditional opera aesthetics meet digital lighting language, when academic aesthetic thinking collides with industry technical practice, what emerges is not merely a day's worth of knowledge, but a new possibility for cultivating hybrid "art + technology" talent.

Excellence comes from confidence. Creativity comes from pursuit. Yajiang Photoelectric looks forward to exploring the next chapter of light together with NACTA and all the young dreamers of the stage.