Actresses perform during the opening ceremony of the 14th Asia Arts Festival & the 2nd Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival in Quanzhou, Southeast China's Fujian province, Nov 8, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Asia Arts Festival

Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the Asia Arts Festival is the first international arts festival ever hosted by the People's Republic of China.

Since its inauguration in Beijing in 1998, there have been 14 festivals held in different Chinese cities up to now. The 15th festival will be held in Ningbo in Zhejiang province from Sept 23 to Oct 23.

Asian artists of different forms and media have brought to the festivals a great variety of art programs that are fresh, unique and stylistically diverse. Artists at the festivals often come out of their traditional venues and give performances in parks and other public places, bringing arts closer to the common people and at the same time broadening the Festival’s influence.

The annual event has become not only a well-established international arts festival in Asia but also a perfect stage for Asian artists to exhibit the beauty and splendor of their arts.