Culture Beat: Cultural Aid to Xinjiang Exhibition Opens

The exhibition poster Photo: Courtesy of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism 

The Pairing-assistance to Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition kicked off in Aksu, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Wednesday.

The exhibition displays the achievements of the 19 provinces and municipalities across China that are involved in providing cultural assistance to Xinjiang, its 14 autonomous prefectures and cities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. A total of 330 intangible cultural projects conducted by 383 inheritors are on show.

China has been implementing "pairing assistance" programs in Xinjiang since 1997, channeling financial, technical and human resource support in various fields to Xinjiang from other parts of the country. Efforts have also been made to promote cultural exchanges between different ethnic groups in Xinjiang and other regions of the country.

The exhibition has been held three times. This is the first time that it is being held outside Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. It includes displaying achievements, giving performances and conducting interactions. Additionally, a special exhibition of Mukam music is being held.

Over the past three years, the exhibition has become a brand activity for providing cultural assistance to Xinjiang, a platform for cultural exchanges between different provinces and municipalities and Xinjiang, and a window to see the results of Xinjiang's protection of its intangible cultural heritage and cultural advancement.

The next step is to promote Xinjiang's tourism by taking advantage of its rich tourist resources.

The event is scheduled to end on Sunday.

Changsha holds mid-term city planning competition

A competition was held recently in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, in which a total of six top-notch international design teams were invited to provide their insights into local city planning.

The renovation project is located in Heishipu, an area in Changsha's city center and a frontier area of the unified development of three cities in Hunan: Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan in Hunan.

As the renovation project is near its mid-term stage, those designers were invited to the city to look into the problems and challenges it is facing, and to provide their unique visions and design methods.

The area embraces both abundant industrial and ecological resources including rivers, mountains and forests, as well as mature education and transportation facilities.

The community model will explore new engines to boost the city's development, where a compound space will be needed in the center with multifunctions including business, art, technology and ecology.

After the competition, details will be needed for the final stage of city planning.