Folk art season set to launch in Xinjiang

The first China Xinjiang Folk Art Season is set to start in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Aug 20, according to a news conference by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday.

The event seeks to promote the integration of culture and tourism by taking folk art troupes from different parts of the country to perform in Xinjiang.

The event will include exhibitions of farmer paintings, intangible cultural heritage projects, and other cultural and creative products, while promoting travel routes in Xinjiang, and setting up gourmet markets.

Offline activities will run from August 2024 to 2025 in several stages set up in markets, squares, commercial districts and tourist attractions around the region to permit the participation of people of its various ethnic groups. New media platforms will be leveraged to promote the folk art season online.

A series of folk performances will be organized. More than 50 troupes comprising around 1,700 performers will take part in the event and will be performing at the Urumqi Cultural Center.

Stage productions will take place in some prefectures in Xinjiang from August 20 until the end of October, according to Yu Jie, deputy director of Xinjiang's regional bureau of culture and tourism.