Special Supplement: Cities expo now underway

Inaugurated in 2004, the World Historical and Cultural Cities Expo in Nanjing is held every other year to promote cultural exchanges and international cooperation among participating cities.

The expo is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the National Administration of Cultural Relics and the UNESCO China Office, and organized by Nanjing People's Government, Jiangsu Culture Department and Jiangsu Construction Department.

The first expo in 2004 invited 21 cities from home and abroad to attend, including Beijing, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Chengde, Lijiang and Pingyao, and Barcelona, Florence and St Petersburg.

The 2006 City Expo saw a significant increase in the number of participating cities, with 53 mayors or their representatives attending the event, including those from Chengdu, Changsha, Lhasa, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Rome, Los Angeles, Nagoya and Auckland.

The 2004 and 2006 expos held exhibitions, forums and performances to present the charm of Nanjing's culture and rich resources. The Nanjing Cultural Industrial Fair in 2004 resulted in an investment of 5 billion yuan for 26 cooperative projects.

The 2008 City Expo is now underway from Nov 3 to 7 with the theme of "Convergence of Cultures and Sharing in Harmonious Cities". The World Urban Forum 4 is being held at the same time. Over 10,000 government officials, experts, scholars and former state leaders are attending the expo and forum.

The event will include:

Large performance of "The Dream Night" on the Qinhuai River. The variety show celebrates the opening of 2008 World Historical and Cultural Cities Expo.

Ministerial and mayoral forums, talks on the preservation of city history and culture, and a forum on the 2008 China Museum Exhibition Art.

Exhibitions on the 30th anniversary of international friendly cities, as well as those on brocades and Chinese and Russian painting.

A cultural industry fair, including some 20 exhibitions, including those on famous Chinese towns, an animation and cartoon trade fair, and a calligraphy and painting fair.

A folk and community art festival, a singing contest, and a food festival will also be part of the exposition.

(China Daily 11/05/2008 page7)