China Art Festival to be held in Sept

The 13th China Art Festival will kick off in Beijing on Sept 1 and will end in Xiong'an New Area, Hebei province, on Sept 15, said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on July 29.

It will be the first time that the festival will be held in three regions: Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, at the same time.

Wenhua Award, a prize for professional stage performances, will be presented during the festival, which is held every three years. Fifty-eight theatrical productions will participate in the competition and nearly 30 shows will be staged during the festival.

Qunxing Award, which is also given out during the festival, will grant the top prize for amateur artistic works, and 112 theatrical productions will compete for 28 awards. One of the highlights will be square dancing, a popular entertainment that takes across the country in parks and square, by mostly middle-aged and retired people. A total of 33 square dancing pieces compete in the final round.

Besides live performances, there will be exhibitions of calligraphy, photography and paintings.

This year, the festival will mark the 80th anniversary of the celebrated speech on literature and art delivered by Chairman Mao Zedong at the revolutionary base of Yan'an, Shaanxi province.