An artist from South Korea displays hat weaving skills at an intangible cultural heritage expo of Culture City of East Asia 2016 in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, April 15, 2016. [Photo by Wen Yi/Chinaculture.org]

The 2016 Year of East Asia City of Culture was inaugurated in Ningbo, a coastal city in Southeast China's Zhejiang province, on April 15.

Performances by art troupes from the three 2016 Culture Cities of East Asia-China's Ningbo, Japan's Nara, and South Korea's Jeju-highlighted the opening ceremony.

Performers from Ningbo displayed their traditional dragon dance, the Fenghua Cloth Dragon ,which bears a history of more than 800 years. The dance has been listed among the national intangible cultural heritages.

Artists from Nara brought their drum beat performance which was both spirited and steeped in tradition.

Artists from Jeju performed a traditional Korean dance.

The opening ceremony was followed by an intangible cultural heritageexpo displaying numerous intangible cultural heritage artworks from the nineEast Asian culture cities of China, Japan and South Korea.

As an important part of the Silk Road near the sea, Ningbo has long been steeped in cultural diversity. During the campaign, the city will join the other eight East Asian culture cities from China, Japan and South Korea creating a feast of oriental culture. It will carry out more than 100 cultural exchange activities at home and abroad including art shows, music performances, film screenings, and cultural forums.

"Culture Cities of East Asia is a flagship brand in China-Japan-South Korea cultural exchanges. It's an innovative practice for the three countries to cooperate in various fields," said Wang Tie, Vice-Minister of Chinese Ministry of Culture.

An annual multilateral cultural activity initiated by China, Japan and South Korea was launched in 2014. The East Asian City of Culture campaign aims to promote cultural diversity in East Asia, allowing the three countries to foster a mutual understanding and a sense of unity in the region.