The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the indisputable authority on music by Slavic maestros like Antonin Dvorak, made its Shanghai debut on Sunday night, closing the 9th China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the largest event of its kind in the country.

Having just celebrated its 110th birthday, the orchestra, well known for its elegant classical string ensemble and its unique Czech-style acoustics, was currently on its Asian performance tour.

"The month-long festival provided a communication platform for cultural dialogue among different countries and prominently displayed both classic and modern Chinese arts," said Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng at the closing ceremony.

Sun said the festival, as the "busiest, largest, and most prosperous performance season in China," would continue to contribute to the "great development and prosperity of the socialist culture."

The annual festival this year featured 55 performances, including symphony orchestras, dances, musicals, and ballets from both domestic and international groups over the past month, with attendance totaling 400,000, said Chen Shenglai, President of the Arts Festival Center at Sunday's press conference.

Chen said 18 painting and artifact exhibitions from more than 140 art institutions of 17 countries, including works by Rembrandt and selected artifacts from Spain's Prado Museum, were held during the festival, attracting more than 200,000 visitors.

International artists were also invited to more than 3,000 street activities, carnivals, and school arts events, attracting more than 1.5 million spectators, proving that the general public, especially children, can truly enjoy the arts, he said.

"Cultural weeks," such as that of Singaporean, Spain, Hungarian, and China's northwest Qinghai Province, were also held along with the festival, introducing arts of a particular region to the public, Chen said.

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the China Shanghai International Arts Festival has served as a cultural gala and an artistic pageant bridging China and the world annually since 1999.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)