A folk art troupe in Pingtan, Fujian province performs at the opening ceremony of the tourism and culture festival of Pingtan-Taiwan Duty-free Commodity Market, Jan 17. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Authorities in Pingtan-Taiwan Duty-free Commodity Market, Fujian province announced the opening of its first tourism and culture festival at a launching ceremony on Jan 17, according to ptnet.cn.

The month-long event will run until Feb 21. It aims to gather together local tourists and merchants to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival.

At the opening ceremony, local folk art troupes presented excellent performances featuring traditional music and dancing and calligraphy writing. The performances enthralled the audience and enabled them to enjoy a feast of traditional culture.

Organizers said that the event will include a large amount of activities such as lucky draws, a lantern show, riddle guessing and a folk music concert.

And to enable local people to feel that the Spring Festival is just around the corner, the market is decorated with many festive elements, such as red lanterns.

The decorations also include a giant bamboo-made cucurbit with 3.5 meters high. The pronunciation of cucurbit in Chinese is similar to that of the auspicious words "Fulu", which means happiness and wealth.

There are also five lamp posts surrounding the cucurbit, on which images of Taiwan's famous landscapes, traditional culture and customs are engraved.

"We want to introduce Taiwan's tourism and culture to more people on the mainland and promote cross-Straits cooperation and exchanges in economy and trade through such an event. And we also expect that Taiwan people who work and live at the market can enjoy a happy Spring Festival," said an organizer.

Statistics show that by the end of 2015, the market had 245 stores that sell Taiwan goods and Taiwan-flavor restaurants. And 64 percent of them are Taiwan-funded.