Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the Asia Arts Festival is the first international arts festival ever hosted by the People’s Republic of China. Since its inauguration in Beijing in 1998, there have been ten festivals held in different Chinese cities up to now.

Asian artists of different forms and media have brought to the festivals a great variety of art programs that are fresh, unique and stylistically diverse. Artists at the festivals often come out of their traditional venues and give performances in parks and other public places, bringing arts closer to the common people and at the same time broadening the Festival’s influence.

The annual event has become not only a well-established international arts festival in Asia but also a perfect stage for Asian artists to exhibit the beauty and splendor of their arts. The festival will continue to exert greater and more extensive influence among the general public and artists alike around the world, and contribute in more significant ways to the cultural exchange between China and other Asian countries.