The first Liuyang River Cultural and Art Festival began on May 1 in Changsha, Hunan province, to strongly promote awareness of the local cultures, officials said.

"The festival demonstrated Changsha's rich cultural resources and supported growth of related industries including tourism industry," said Zhang Xiangtao,head of Changsha's publicity department.

The festival, ended on May 23, kicked off with a stage performance called On the Liuyang River.

The show, which was presented outdoors near Changsha's Longping Rice Museum, demonstrates the beauty of Liuyang River and the lives of residents in ancient Changsha.

It will be staged regularly near the museum after the festival. Over 1,000 performers, including 130 professional dancers, participated in the opening ceremony.

Performers highlighted local folk and ancient cultures on a stage formed by natural landscapes such as the Liuyang River and a 5,000-square-meter rice field.

Event organizers arranged more than 10 cultural activities, such as stage performances and art exhibitions, to attract visitors and residents.

With the festival, organizers strove to display cultural elements in a modern light to catch the attention of younger generations.

A musical and firework festival called Love on Liuyang River was held on May 20 in the Liuyang River Wedding Park. May 20 is known as China's Valentine's Day because the Chinese pronunciation of the date sounds somewhat like "I love you".

Young people were invited to release balloons and express their love to their loved ones online.

A large-scale folk performance called Lives on Liushui was staged at the Changsha Experiment Theater on May 22.

Presented from the angle of a boatman who lives beside the Liuyang River, the show demonstrated the river's environment, folk songs related to the river and the region's architectural style and intangible cultural heritage.

"The performance expressed our respects to ancient traditions. It also demonstrated our traditional cultural achievements," said Wang Lei, art director of Changsha Dance Center.

A concert was held in Changsha Musical Hall to celebrate the end of the cultural festival on May 23. The concert had four chapters and over 60 percent of the songs were created for the festival.

Lei Yixin, a sculptor, said the first Liuyang River Cultural and Art Festival used various art forms to demonstrate local cultural achievements. "Liuyang River has high awareness in China though it is not big in term of length and discharge volume.

There are many culture resources waiting to be explored," Lei said.

quanli@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/31/2016 page24)