The 11th China International Folk Art Festival will be held in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from August 23 to 28, the China News Service reported. The festival will be held under the theme of "Promote Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Countries, Nations, and Cultures around the World; Carry Forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Spirit and Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind." More than 300 artists from art troupes of 13 countries will be invited to China.

Dong Zhanshun, director of the International Cooperation Department of the China Federation of Literary and Art and Circles, said that foreign art troupes invited by the festival cover all five continents and focus on countries along the BRI route, such as Russia, Mongolia, Iran and Croatia.

Besides, young dancers from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Hohhot have been specially invited to form a "young Chinese" street dance troupe.

Dong also said that with the growing international influence of the art festival, more and more foreign art groups have applied to participate. This year, art troupes from Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Ghana and other countries have been invited for the first time.

He said that the music and dance programs will fully demonstrate the richness and diversity of folk art in the world.

The China International Folk Art Festival, founded in 1990, is a large-scale international folk art exchange activity. Since 1990, the festival has attracted more than 3,000 foreign artists from 162 folk art groups from 65 countries on five continents.

(Cover Photo: File photo of 9th China International Folk Art Festival on September 16, 2013, at Yichang City, Hubei Province. /VCG Photo)