Shanghai Arts Festival Brings Together Chinese and International Talent

Shanxi folk dance "A Palmful of Wild Jujubes" opened the 8th Shanghai Arts Festival on October 17th. Zhang Jigang's new Shanxi ballet romance is permeated with local flavor, and was honored as the "poetic perfection of love in the State of Jin". This is the first time the Shanghai International Arts Festival has broken with tradition and brought in repertoire from another province as the opening performance. Chinese and foreign artists will be displaying their finest performances for the eighth annual Shanghai International Arts Festival in Shanghai, China. The international festival exhibits a wide range of events, from music and theater to dance and magic shows, and runs through November in various venues throughout the city of Shanghai.

The Shanghai International Arts Festival, started in 1999, is the only such festival in China to bring together the country's different arts, and is China's largest. It is hosted by the Ministry of Culture of the P.R.C. and organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng commented at the opening that the Shanghai China International Arts Festival is more excellent every year, and has already become a well-recognized name. He said that the festival has enhanced cultural exchanges, while developing cultural markets and providing a great platform for Chinese and international artists to realize their full creative and imaginative potential.

The festival will include 73 programs from 26 countries and regions. The actors and performers will present a large variety of local and regional styles. These will include performances by renowned American soprano Jessye Norman, who will perform a Chinese piece with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as well as operatic excerpts, a Chinese and British co-produced "King Lear", Milan Italy's Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company's production of "Midsummer night's dream", and the premeir of the award-winning Chinese ballet "Pandora's Legend" by the Night of the Sultans troupe.

For the length of the festival, Shanghai will also hold the "National Music, Opera, and Ballet Excellent Program Show". The Xinjiang Dance "Kucha-One Thousand and One" (demonstrating the splendid life of ethnic minorities), Shanghai Beijing Opera's performance of the classic "Concubine Mei", the new Kun opera "The Handan Dream" and more new Chinese works and other masterpieces will be performed non-stop.

Other activities include arts exhibitions, performing arts programs, and an international performing arts fair. Also, as the "Festival within a Festival" activity, Shanghai will hold a "Mexican Culture Week" and an "Inner Mongolia Culture Week", exhibiting a harmonious blend of these farflung cultures. Other events include a magic festival and contest, an international piano competition, and an arts and crafts fair. Also to be introduced is this year's special "public cultural activity", with a "Joyful Shanghai, Harmonious Homeland" theme, expected to attract 1.3 million participants.

This international festival has gotten better every year, and this year's program promises to bring the best of cultures from around the world and Chinese traditional arts. If you're traveling in China during the fall season, don't miss it. The Eigth Shanghai China International Arts Festival lowers its curtains on November 18.