The winners included Chinese actor Xin Baiqing, who plays the role of Gu Wenchang in a play by the same name done by the National Theater of China, which was about the life of Gu Wenchang, the first official who advocated the fight against desertification by planting trees; and Chinese actress Gu Weiying of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, who plays the role of Du Liniang in the Kunqu Opera piece, The Peony Pavilion.

The first China Theatre Plum Blossom Awards ceremony was held in 1984. But since 2005, the annual event, launched by the China Theatre Association, has become biennial.