With the theme of "Energetic and Green Fujian", the Fujian Day was inaugurated in the China Pavilion of Astana Expo on August 3.

During the event, artistic performances such as the Gaojia Opera (one of Fujian's five local operas famous for its various chou, or clown roles) and Zhangzhou Puppetry (the puppet famous for its oldest head-carving techniques in the puppet show) took the stage, as artists from Quanzhou Gaojia Opera Heritage Center and Zhangzhou Xu Zhuchu Puppet Art Museum showcased their stunning skills.

Huang Guiling and Xu Yixin, actresses from the Zhangzhou Xu Zhuchu Puppet Art Museum, performed the Zhangzhou Puppet, a provincial intangible cultural heritage. Exquisite props, vivid-carved characters and the actresses' superb skills helped showcase the unique features of Fujian's traditional operas.

As one of the most popular among Fujian's five local operas, Gaojia Opera emerged during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Wang Zuping, a famous actor from Quanzhou Gaojia Opera Heritage Center, performed an episode of a classic play for the audience. The actor's Chinese humor won a storm of applause from the China Pavilion audience.

Simultaneously, Kong Chunxia, Yu Xin and Huang Wenyong, famous successors of the intangible cultural heritage, showcased their skills by performing Zherong Paper-cutting and Jianyao Ware-making (a type of Chinese pottery originally made in Jianyao Kiln of Jianyang city, Fujian province) techniques.

Jianyao Ware, the national intangible cultural heritage, won people's appreciation with its superb production process.

Zherong paper-cutting, which was included in the intangible cultural heritage list by UNESCO, was named after Zerong County, a representative place of paper-cutting in Fujian province. Now, this ancient and unique national folk art has spread to the town of Zherong.

Kong Chunxia, a successor of Zerong paper-cutting, said she felt delighted to present this traditional art to the world at the expo. With only a pair of scissors and a few pieces of red paper, Kong made lively figures in front of the audience.

"Zherong, a small county, has cut out a colorful world with pieces of paper," said Chen Zhen, chairman of Fujian CCPIT when introducing Zherong paper-cutting to the China Pavilion Curator Shu Huan. Many other intangible cultural heritage items were also exhibited during the event, which attracted many viewers. The expo has become a platform which helps spread Chinese culture to the entire world.