Festival Croisements is an annual French cultural festival. Through July 10 this year, as many as 1,000 French artists will perform in 40 Chinese cities. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China, and the festival is a cornerstone of the year’s diplomatic exchange.

The festival presents the vitality and innovation of French film, drama, dance, music, visual art, new media and literature through youth-oriented performance.

As one of the important parts of Festival Croisements, the 11th French Film Exhibition will present French cinema in 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

Ten Masterpieces of French Painting, the opening exhibition of the festival, began on April 11 in Beijing. Participating museums include The Museum of the Le Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum, Palace of Versailles, the Picasso Museum and the Pompidou Center for the Performing Arts.

The collection includes 10 pieces from eight French masters, such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso and Pierre Soulages.

Festival Croisements was created after China and France shared cultural years in 2003 and 2005. It is held to continue that strong cultural exchange.

It is currently France’s largest overseas cultural festival and China’s largest foreign cultural festival.