The Chinese Ministry of Culture is launching a "Chinese Culture in North Africa" event. With a late July start, the event will run to the end of the year, covering Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania and Sudan.

The Ministry of Culture in conjunction with south China's Guangdong Province and the city of Shenzhen, East China's Jiangsu Province and Southwest China's Sichuan Province will send several art and cultural delegations composed of more than 180 artists and cultural officials to the six North African countries.

"Guangdong Cultural Week," which was launched in Sousse, Tunisia, on July 20, kicked off the half-year-long event. A children's performing arts ensemble from Guangdong introduced Chinese folk music to Tunisian people in the Sousse Culture Center. A photograph exhibition and a Chinese painting exhibition were displayed as well.

Before the "Cultural Week" in Tunisia, the Guangdong's culture delegation performed in Morocco's 10th Rabat International Arts Festival and 39th Marrakech Popular Arts Festival.

Following Guangdong Province presentation, the culture delegation from Jiangsu Province will visit Morocco in late August and then Tunisia in early September.

In August, an acrobatic troupe from Sichuan Province will perform in Egypt, Sudan and Mauritania.

Shenzhen will also send a large delegation, including a song and dance ensemble, acrobats, young pianists and photographers, to Algeria in late September and to Egypt in early October.

As a conclusion, a delegation of officials from the Ministry of Culture will visit Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, where a Chinese and Islamic Calligraphy Exhibition will be held.

In addition to the performances and exhibitions, a China-Islamic Forum is scheduled to be held in Egypt in September. Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend the forum.

"China has always attached great importance to cultural exchanges with North African countries. However, because of some economic and geographic reasons, there have been few chances for the two sides to conduct frequent cultural exchanges," said Wang Yansheng, an official from the Minstry of Culture.

He expressed his hope to deepen mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese and North African peoples through cultural dialogue.

(China Daily July 29, 2004)