The seventh China Art Festival, the top art festival in the country, will be held on Sept. 10, 2004 in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, the organizing committee has announced.

The national art gala was first scheduled for Oct. 12, 2003, but was postponed because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The organizers, including the Ministry of Culture and the Zhejiang provincial government, rescheduled at the approval the State Council, the Chinese cabinet.

The triennial arts festival is the biggest showcase of China's artistic achievements, and it aims to promote folk culture and improve the national spirit.

The art festival has become a pageant for artists and a diversion for ordinary people in the country. At the sixth China Art Festival, several thousand artists from home and abroad gave 105 performances in different styles, more than 500 mass cultural entertainment events were held during the art festival and more than 200,000 people watched the performances.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2003)