Art festival in Yunnan fosters cultural exchanges

The 7th China-South Asia Expo starts in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province on August 16, 2023, the first offline event since the COVID. Photo: IC

The 11th China-South Asia and Southeast Asia Arts Week opened at the Yunnan Museum of Literature and Art on Tuesday, providing a platform to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia, according to a report Wednesday by the Xinhua News Agency.

Themed "Building the Belt and Road Together, Meeting in Colorful Yunnan," the event will last until August 20, bringing together cultural workers from 11 countries - including Bangladesh, Cambodia, France, India, Iran, Japan and Malaysia - in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Mohammad Abdul Momen, professor with the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, said that the art week provides a crucial platform for artists from South Asia and Southeast Asia to showcase their talent. 

As well as promoting cultural exchange and cooperation among various countries, the event also presents a diverse range of arts and handicraft forms, he said, adding that it can bring forth further development opportunities for participating nations.

Featuring domestic and international artists specializing in traditional crafts such as printing and dyeing, lacquer art, woodcarving and weaving, the art week is expected to see the participation of multiple artists from South Asia and Southeast Asia. 

In addition, distinguished dancers from South Asia and Southeast Asia will collaborate with instructors, dancers, and folk art performers from Yunnan.

Over the past decade, more than 300 representatives from over 30 countries along the Belt and Road, including South Asia and Southeast Asia, have participated in Art Week events. It has become an essential window for cultural exchanges along the Belt and Road and a significant platform for win-win cooperation, said Sun Jiong, chairman of the Yunnan Federation of Literary and Art Circles. 

This event is part of the 7th China-South Asia Expo and the 27th Kunming Import and Export Fair held in Kunming.

During the art week, a large-scale dough sculpture exhibition featuring the Tea Horse Road will be held, showcasing the colorful traditional folk art of China and various Asian countries, and boosting mutual learning between different regions and cultures.