13th China Art Festival underway in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei

Actors and actresses of the Hebei Bangzi Opera, Peking Opera and Yuju Opera perform a classic opera piece during the opening of the 13th China Art Festival at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Thursday. [JIANG DONG/CHINA DAILY]

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Beijing municipal government, the Tianjin municipal government and the Hebei provincial government, the 13th China Art Festival was launched on Sep 1 and will run to Sept 15, with theater productions, exhibitions and award ceremonies in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

According to Zhou Hanping, an official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this year's festival has the theme of celebrating the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the new collaborative approach is in line with the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, particularly in the fields of culture and tourism.

"Hosting high-quality online and offline events, including performances and exhibitions, aims to meet people's growing needs for a better life. We will continue to set low ticket prices in order to attract more people to theaters, galleries and other venues of the arts festival," Zhou said.

A craftsperson paints a print featuring a plump baby holding a large fish with a lotus in the background－a classic image of Yangliuqing woodblock New Year prints.

The festival's three recurring exhibitions－fine arts, calligraphy and photography－will run from Friday to Oct 14. The fine arts exhibition, with around 420 paintings, will be displayed at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. The calligraphy exhibition's 330 works can be viewed at the Tianjin Art Museum, while the photography exhibition will display 270 photos at the Shijiazhuang Museum in Hebei province.

"Guided tours, lectures and forums will be hosted alongside the exhibitions to popularize art and cultural knowledge, so that people will better understand art, calligraphy and photography, and so that these excellent works can exert their positive influences on nurturing people," said He Yawen, deputy director of the ministry's art department.

China's national awards for the performing arts－the Wenhua Award for professional stage productions and the Qunxing Award for amateur artistic works－will be presented toward the end of the festival.

Tianjin boasts a culturally rich history, which has given birth to the colorful and remarkable art forms of Yangliuqing Woodblock Printing, Kite Wei, Painted Clay Figure Zhang and Crosstalk.

“The holding of the 13th Art Festival is expected to spark culture and art creation, enrich people's cultural life and boost economic development,” said Li Zhuo, deputy head of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

Initiated in the autumn of 1987, the China Art Festival has become one of the most important national cultural and art pageants for ordinary people throughout the country.