Culture festival strengthens cross-Straits ties

The 2018 Cross-Straits Folk Culture Festival kicked off at Feifengshan Park in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province Wednesday, local media reported.

A dazzling array of folk cultural performances brought by the artists from both sides of the Strait are to be staged in the city in celebration of the upcoming Lantern Festival, which falls on March 2 this year.

A special highlight of the festival will be a cultural parade of a wide variety of attractions ranging from traditional dance, music, opera, painting, and literature to sports. Nearly one hundred of them have been listed as intangible cultural heritage items at different levels.

This year, like the previous ones, is going to integrate Taiwan cultural elements with a dozen creative cultural handicrafts, including ceramics, clay figurines and lacquer paintings to be displayed at a cultural block.

Meanwhile, a food fiesta featuring the signature snacks across Fujian is also to be held on the sidelines to tantalize many a visitor's taste buds.

The event, which celebrates its tenth edition this year, is jointly sponsored by the Fuzhou Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and Fuzhou's Cangshan District People's Government, and is scheduled to run until March 1.

Fujian, located in the Southeast part of the mainland, is closely linked with Taiwan, not just by the narrowness of the ocean channel, but also by blood ties, common language and folk customs. Statistics show roughly 80 percent of Taiwan residents are of Fujian origin.