China's largest national culture festival, the 3rd "Meet in Beijing", ended here Thursday in a dance performance by the world-famous Spanish National Dancing Group, which was the 33rd foreign artistic troupe to participate in the festival.
The festival, since its debut on April 20, has been applauded by more than one million people in the audience. A total of 100 performances were staged in 20 theaters and 10 squares by 33 troupes from 30 countries and regions, as well as 15 Chinese national and local troupes. Nine arts exhibitions were also on show in five exhibition halls and museums.
During the 40-day gala, state-of-the-art performance by foreign troupes highlighted the theme of "diversified culture". Both "Tristan and Yseult" by Pierre Cardin and "The Merchant of Venice" by a British troupe appealed to the Chinese audiences with excellent performing skills and their profound cultural background.
Apart from well-known European troupes, some troupes from Japan,Korea, Mongolia and Africa also won the favor of the audiences with their unique artistic styles.
Meanwhile, festive games were held in parks and squares, attracting many Chinese people during the seven-day Labor Day holiday. On May 1 alone, more than 30,000 people went to east Beijing's Chaoyang Park to watch such artistic performances. Five modern exhibition halls showed calligraphy and the folk arts of foreign countries, including Congo, Korea and Ukraine. A photo and painting show on the history of Beijing not only attracted older citizens, but also charmed foreign artists attending the festival.
An official with the Chinese Ministry of Culture said that "Meet in Beijing" forged a stage for Chinese artists to show their talent and promote their image. As foreign artistic troupes mounted the Chinese stage one after another, Chinese troupes joined hands with them to promote the first performance season in China, staging two plays, one ballet, one modern opera and three Peking operas.
Foreign artists as well as art critics were quoted as saying bythe press that Chinese traditional arts are undergoing a renaissance, while modern Chinese arts have distinguished themselves in a positive and fresh style.
This was also the first time that Chinese artistic troupes had entrusted ticketing and advertising to a single agency, which resulted in unprecedented profits.
Many art critics said that the 3rd "Meet in Beijing" not only enlarged the number of performances and exhibitions, but also offered valuable experience for Chinese artistic circles.
(People?s Daily May 31, 2002)
