Chinese folk artists gathered in Beijing Wednesday to pool wisdom on the inheritance and growth of traditional art forms as the China Quyi Artists Association (CQAA) celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Jiang Kun, president of the Association, called for more inspiring works representing the essence of the times.

"Quyi" refers to various forms of narrative and singing folk arts, such as Chinese ballad singing, comic dialogues and clapper talk, which are popular among the general public.

Initiated in July 1949, the China Quyi Artists Association (CQAA) evolved to its current organization after several name changes.

Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the CQAA, who has nearly 40 years of experience in performing Suzhou Pinghua, said that recent years saw robust development of Suzhou Pinghua – a traditional Chinese art form of storytelling in Suzhou dialect.

According to Wu, there has been an increasing number of young Pinghua artists, who are expected to explore deeper and bring new impetus to the traditional performing art.

(With input from Xinhua)