The 12th Chinese Folk Art Festival kicked off in Paris on Monday, with Chinese and French artists attending the event.

Canadian artist Mark Rowswell, who is more renowned in China as a famous "cross-talk" comedian artist under his Chinese name "Da Shan", hosted the event in both Chinese and French.

More than 20 Chinese artists also presented traditional operas of different areas of China, such as Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia.

Yu Jinsong, minister-counselor of Chinese embassy in France, spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that the folk arts had combined rich Chinese traditional arts and local characteristics, which could present diverse and lively representations of the people in China. The Chinese Folk Art Festival provides a good channel for French people to get to know about China and Chinese culture.

Jiang Kun, Chinese Ballad Singers Association and well-known "cross-talk" comedian artist, said that it is a good opportunity for introducing Chinese folk arts to an overseas audience.

"Chinese folk arts have a history of more than 2,000 years. It is close to the daily life of the people, and always gets inspiration from life, so it is always popular in China," Yan Zhenquan, director of China Cultural Center in Paris said, adding that the festival, through performances, exchanges and lectures, is hoping to introduce the traditional arts to a wider audience.

Two other performances were also held in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday. Roger Darrobers, professor of Chinese language and civilization in Paris Nanterre University, and Jean- Marie Fegly, professor of Chinese language of Inalco University, will select the best performance when the festival closes.