People in northeast China's Jilin Province will have the chance to appreciate wonderful works of arts from 15 Asian countries between August 22 and 26.

The route from Renmin Square to Jilin Provincial Culture and Activity Center in Changchun, the provincial capital, will become a world of song and dance from August 22.

Eminent local artists and ordinary citizens will join foreign artists in the 90-minute performance of the road tour, on one of the major avenues in Changchun.

The road tour is only one of the activities of the Sixth Asia Arts Festival, which is thought to be the largest one since it was established in 1998.

Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng said: "The Asia Arts Festival is a 'banquet' of the arts in Asia, and this will be the second time it has been held outside Beijing."

Apart from Changchun, there will also be performances in Jilin, Yanji and Songyuan, which will be performed by 18 artistic troupes from Thailand, India, Mongolia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

And 13 ambassadors will also come to the festival.

"It is a good chance for both culture and economic communication, which is especially helpful to us in the first year of revitalizing the old industrial base of Jilin Province," said Wang Fuyi, deputy secretary-general of the Jilin provincial government.

(China Daily August 2, 2004)