Folk arts festival to delight Baoshan with global art shows
A flag-raising ceremony is held at the Baoshan International Folk Arts Museum on Wednesday to mark the beginning of preparation work for the upcoming Baoshan International Folk Arts Festival to start next Friday through November 25.
Hundreds of foreign artists from a dozen countries will stage performances in Baoshan at an upcoming folk arts festival.
The month-long Baoshan International Folk Arts Festival will begin next Friday and run till November 25.
Featuring performances in streets, campuses, shopping malls and other public venues it is expected to attract an audience in the millions.
The event, which has been held for more than two decades, has become an important platform for arts and cultural exchanges between the city and the world, said Wang Yichuan, director with the Baoshan Culture Bureau.
This year’s event will mainly showcase the cultures of the Belt and Road countries, while also promoting the city’s Jiangnan (South China) culture, Wang said.
The district has historically served as a maritime Silk Road gateway, from where the renowned Chinese explorer and diplomat Zheng He (1371-1433) set off on his expeditionary voyages in 1405.
Highlights include traditional dance troupes from Uzbekistan, India, Mexico and Columbia, as well as folk arts groups from Croatia, Russian, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia.
The more than 300 foreign artists will not only perform at local sub districts and towns in Baoshan, but also experience the local lifestyle with a one-day life-experience event during the festival.
A foreign dance group performs on a local street for the last Baoshan International Folk Arts Festival in 2015.
The New Zealand Maori art group will be invited to stay in a local village house in Luojing Town, the city’s major agricultural site, to experience the city’s rural charm, Wang said.
Another art group from Croatia will be invited to walk through the paddy field in the historical Luodian Town, which is more than 600 years old.
The foreign artists will also be treated to classic Peking Opera performances, staged by renowned troupes based in Baoshan.
The local troupes have prepared a special show, integrating martial arts with classic operas.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for next Sunday, October 28, when performers from both home and abroad will launch a parade on Mudanjiang Road in Baoshan.
In addition to performances, more than a dozen ancient skills from painting, paper-cutting and weaving will be displayed in each town and subdistrict of Baoshan. Masters will perform and teach.
One highlight will be cross-stitching. This is a form of embroidery in which x-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. The skill is a time-honored craft in Baoshan’s Luojing Town. The technique dates to the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Since 1995, the folk arts festival has brought together 125 cultural and art troupes from 51 countries and regions. Nearly 3,000 artists from all over the world have participated in the festival, according to the Baoshan government.
A foreign dance group performs for the last Baoshan International Folk Arts Festival in 2015.
