Cultural & Folk Festival · Asia-Pacific
The China Music Golden Bell Award for voice, piano, guzheng, Chinese plucked instruments and brass, with published age limits for each category.
Sets up a national-level music award in the style of China’s Golden Bell competition: voice, instrument and composition entries, published age bands, and an award structure that names equal-standing winners instead of first, second and third.
The China Music Golden Bell Award is a biennial national music competition. This template rebuilds its published structure so a coordinator opens an event that already carries the real categories, age bands and award wording, instead of starting from an empty catalogue. It suits a conservatoire, a regional music association or an arts school that wants to run a selective, multi-round music award in the same spirit.
The template holds seven items across three individual-entry groups. The vocal group (ages 18 to 36) has Vocal Folk Style (Minzu) and Vocal – Bel Canto (Meisheng). The instrumental group (ages 16 to 35) has Guzheng, Piano, a combined Plucked Instruments item for pipa, zhongruan, liuqin and sanxian, and Wind – Brass. A separate composition group carries the Works Award – Orchestral, which judges a piece of music rather than a performer. Each performance item uses a 100-mark score and a ten-minute clock.
Categories rotate from one edition to the next. The 2025 edition ran the vocal, guzheng, piano, plucked-instrument and brass categories, while the 2023 edition ran only vocal, erhu and violin, so a real organiser should open only the items that apply to the current edition and archive the rest. The published rules describe four rounds – national selection, second round, semi-final and final – with the field narrowing sharply at each stage, for example from up to 85 vocalists to 30 to 12.
The award structure is the most distinctive part. Results are not ranked first, second and third: each category names five Golden Bell Award winners of equal standing, and the Works Award honours ten works. The template therefore ships two award titles rather than placings. The competition does not publish a scoring rubric, so no grade bands are included; agree your own criteria with your panel and brief them before the first round.
Where this event comes from
The Golden Bell Award is a national music prize in China with a published charter, held every second year, whose categories are decided afresh for each edition.
Where this event is run
China, as a national, selective award for emerging professional musicians. The template follows that format and suits a music academy, a national or regional musicians’ body, or any organiser who wants a multi-round, category-rotating music award with equal-standing winners. It is less suited to a school concert or a graded exam, where placings and certificates are the norm.
- China (national music award, biennial)
Key facts
- 7 items in 3 groups, all individual entries: 2 vocal, 4 instrumental and 1 composition (Works Award)
- Age bands are set per group: vocal 18 to 36, instrumental 16 to 35, composition open
- Performance items are scored out of 100 with a ten-minute clock; the published rules give no scoring rubric
- Four rounds in the real format: national selection, second round, semi-final, final
- Winners are not ranked: five Golden Bell Award winners of equal standing per category, ten works honoured in the Works Award
- Categories rotate between editions, so open only the items that apply to your edition
- Age groups
- 3
- Competition items
- 8
- Competitions
- 8
- Grade bands
- 0
- Rank awards
- 2
Age groups
Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.
Vocal (18-36)
Candidates aged 18 to 36 compete in this group
Instrumental
Candidates aged 16 to 35 compete in this group
Composition
Candidates aged 16 to 99 compete in this group
Competition items
The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.
Competitions by group
The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocal (18-36) | |||||
| On Stage | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Vocal Folk Style (Minzu) | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Vocal - Bel Canto (Meisheng) | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Instrumental | |||||
| On Stage | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Guzheng | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Piano | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Plucked Instruments (Pipa, Zhongruan, Liuqin, Sanxian) | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Wind - Brass | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Composition | |||||
| On Stage | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Works Award - Orchestral | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Works Award Orchestral | Individual | — | — | 100 | 10m 10s |
Grades and ranks
How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.
| Rank | For | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Bell Award Winner (one of five per category) | 10 | |
| Works Award Winner | 10 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I change this template after installing it?
Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.
Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?
No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.
Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to judge scoring and tabulation software.
Install this template in eTalenter
Everything above is installed as a live, editable event in one step — age groups, items, rules and scoring. Start your own below.
