Root carving art festival held in Kaihua

The 7th China Root Carving Art Festival opens in Kaihua, a county in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Dec 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 7th China Root Carving Art Festival opened in Kaihua, a county in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Dec 12, and will end on Dec 19.

The art festival is located at the China Root Culture Scenic Area which is in trial operation. It is showcasing hundreds of root carvings by various artists from home and abroad.

A dazzling array of activities are underway, including a competition among 58 international root carvers, a Chinese zither playing competition, a state-level intangible cultural heritage exhibition and performance, and performances staged by musicians from countries along the Belt and Road route.

The host venue China Root Culture Scenic Area houses more than 1,300 large-scale root carvings depicting China's five thousand years of history, including the legend of King Yu taming the flood, Emperor Wu's conquest of Emperor Zhou, the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) and Zhang Qian's travels to the western regions in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

So far more than 10 artists of jade carving, tile carving, wood carving, purple clay teapot making, and Chinese zither making at the festival have inked cooperation agreements with the art studio at the China Root Culture Scenic Area.