Zhangjiagang has made great progress in its cultural industry through a series of events designed to enrich the lives of locals through the arts.

Hosted by the local government, the Yangtze River Culture and Art Festival is one of the major cultural projects the city has initiated in recent years, and it serves as a platform for cultural exchanges.

It helps to develop the city's cultural brand by blending Zhangjiagang's local culture with other regional cultures along the Yangtze River, local officials said.

The festival, which is held annually in November, has attracted nearly 1 million participants for the past decade.

With the idea of "communication, integration, cooperation and sharing", the event aims to break the traditional boundaries and provides an opportunity for people from different areas to understand each other, according to the local government.

"Yangtze River is our mother river, and there are various local cultures developed around it," the official said.

"The festival is a great place for these cultures to mingle with each other."

People from Yunnan and Qinghai provinces, Chongqing and Tibet are the active members of this annual event.

"We have cooperated with governments of municipalities, provinces and an autonomous region along the river," the official said.

The festival includes numerous cultural activities, which cover almost all main art forms, such as painting, music, dance and drama.

A variety of competitions, forums and exhibitions have been held during the event as well.

"Religion, literature, art, folk culture. We have no limit. We accept all forms of culture and are willing to share ours with other people during the festival," the official said.

For the past 10 years, the Zhangjiagang government has maintained close ties with many cultural organizations, including the China Federation of Literacy and Art Circles as well as the China Theatre Association to ensure the success of the event.

To date, more than 80 cross-area cultural events have been put on the stage during the festival, with the participation of nearly 200 companies and organizations around the country.

Yangtze River Area Drama Festival and Yangtze River Area Folk Art Festival, the two major events of the festival, are held alternatively every year.

"Running an event like this is such an innovation in China," the official said.

"We have brought some cultural elements to Zhangjiagang, which has traditionally been considered an industrial city."

International cultural events like BESTO China-Korea-Japan Drama Festival have been held in Zhangjiagang as well, following the success of the Yangtze River art festival.

"Zhangjiagang's government has successfully developed the city's culture industry by integrating different cultures and offer them a platform to communicate," said Dai Heng, an expert from the Ministry of Culture.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/01/2013 page15)