More than 2,000 artists from 20 Asian countries are expected to attend an arts festival in central China, slated for September 26, the host city's publicity department said on Wednesday.

Artists from 37 performing troupes would gather in Zhengzhou and its neighboring city Kaifeng in central Henan Province, both host cities of the 10th Asia Arts Festival.

The 13-day festival, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the Henan government, is to feature live performances, films, exhibitions and a trade fair. The festival was inaugurated in 1998by the Ministry of Culture and had been held annually except for a break in 2003, when the SARS epidemic broke out.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2008)