Performance artists from home and abroad are expected to entertain the public during the forthcoming Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year.
During the week-long holiday, 166 programs, including dancing and singing performances, operas and dramas, cross-talks, and magic and acrobatics, will be staged at over 30 local theaters.
An official from the municipal culture bureau attributed the rich cultural program to the mushrooming of art troupes and performance agencies in the Chinese capital in recent years.
Art performances have become a lucrative business in the country, due to the rapid economic development and reforms, the official said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2003)
