The open ceremony of the festival Photo: Xu Liuliu/GT

Syrian poet Adonis, who has a lot of followers in China, once told the Southern Weekly that "There will be nothing called life in China, without poetry." China has favored poets during its thousands of years of history, up until the May Fourth Movement in 1919.

Now Mianyang in Southwestern China's Sichuan Province sees the week-long Fourth China Poetry Festival, a national-level celebration of the form which kicked off on Tuesday at the Mianzhou Grand Theater.

As China's largest poetry event, the festival, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Association of Writers and the local government of Mianyang, has gathered renowned poets and their followers for a five-day spectacular which includes activities from seminars, stage performances, inspiration-seeking trips and poetry recitations.

Chen Qirong, vice chairman of the Association of Writers, explained at the opening ceremony that Mianyang (called Mianzhou in ancient times) is the birthplace of one of China's most renowned poets, Li Bai, and inspired many other works of literature with its natural scenery, thus making it an ideal choice to host the top event.

Poetry has been the dominant form of China's literature for centuries and it once left remarkable masterpieces in almost every dynasty, most of which are still recited and learned by numerous people today.

In 2005, the first festival was launched in Ma'anshan, Anhui Province and from then, the event has been held every three years.

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