Nation Online: The Seventh China Arts Festival kicks off in Hangzhou
Updated: 2004-09-12

The Seventh China Arts Festival kicks off in Hangzhou City with the largest scale and the most dramas.

China Arts Festival is the national arts festival with the top standard and the largest scale. It is held once every three years. Since 1987, the festival has been successfully held six times. As a high-level comprehensive cultural and art activity, it has become a good form of promoting national advanced culture and enriching the cultural life of the people. As Zhao Weishui, vice cultural minister pointed out, "With the theme of promoting advanced culture and encouraging national spirit, and in accordance with the tenet of "a feast of arts and a festival for the people", the Seventh Arts Festival is to emphasize on the time spirit, expand cultural exchanges, and exhibit fully the prosperity of our cultural and art cause."

The Seventh China Arts Festival is the largest of its kinds ever since 1987, with the largest participators and the most plays. 50 plays from all over the country are chosen for the festival, including dance drama, drama, Peking Opera, Yueju Opera and so on.

Besides, the biggest highlight is that it brings Wenhua Award -- the top governmental award and Stars Award -- the award for mass culture and art, into the arts festival for the first time, making the festival a national art gala of top-level stage art awards.

It is reported that the Seventh China Arts Festival will produce 10 Wenhua Awards and 105 Stars Awards from seven categories and three groups.

Eight foreign performance groups, including the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, are also invited to present concerts, dance dramas and musicals during the festival.

The Seventh China Arts Festival is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 26.