Asia Cultural Ministerial Round-table Meeting

Cultural ministers and leaders of other cultural departments from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bengal, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, the DPRK, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam will take part in the Asia Cultural Ministerial Round-table Meeting from August 17th to 20th during the 11th Asia Arts Festival. They will discuss how to face the opportunities and challenges under the global financial crisis, and at the same time sign the Ordos Proposal under their suggestions.

Ordos Naadam Festival

From August 19th to 22nd, Ordos Naadam Fair will be held in the Genghis Khan Tomb Tourist Attraction, and all the ministers will attend the grand welcoming ceremony with distinctive folk features, including wrestling, horse racing and archery. They will also enter into local families to feel themselves the native Mongolian customs and the hospitality of the people.

Performances

Opening Ceremony Performances

On the 18th night of August, “Auspicious Prairie, Blissful Asia---the Opening Ceremony of the 11th Asia Arts Festival” will be held in the Performance Square of Dongsheng District, which will be assisted by the Foreign Liaison Bureau of Ministry of Culture, China Arts & Entertainment Group, the Culture Department of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Ordos City. It will be a high-level performance reflecting features of Asia, China and Inner Mongolia.

Closing Ceremony Performances

On the 26th night of August, “Charming Ordos----the Closing Ceremony of the 11th Asia Arts Festival” will be held in Ordos Grand Theatre, which will present the rich minority culture of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Ordos City and highlight Ordos’s open, innovative and scientific development

Art Troupes

Starting from June before the festival, about 10 high-level art troupes from home and abroad will gather in Ordos to give performances. Around 15-member art troupes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bengal, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, the DPRK, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam will also participate in the festival from the 15th to 26th.

They will together give their performances in 6 theatres including Ordos Grand Theatre, Ordos Theatre and Ordos Entertainment Centre, and 12 performance squares in Dongsheng, Genghis Khan Tomb Tourist Resort, Yijinhuoluo Banner etc. These troupes will also go to Huhhot, Baotou, Bayannao’er and Wuhai to give performances.

Street Performance

Performers from home and abroad and the Wulanmuqi Troupe will perform along the street, combining with the fancy car parade.

Asia Tour Performance of Wulanmuqi Troupe

After the festival, outstanding performers of the Ordos Wulanmuqi Troupe and those from Inner Mongolia will go to other Asian countries to perform so as to acknowledge their support on the festival.

Special Local Festivals in all Banners Affiliated to Ordos To enable the local people enjoy this brilliant festival and to enhance the Festival, all kinds of cultural activities will also be held in those banners of Ordos city.

Exhibitions

The 1st Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ethnic Minorities Exhibition and Performance will be held in the Cultural Center of Kangbashi New District, Ordos from August 19th to 27th, inviting the distinguished ministers from all Asian countries.

From August 26 to September 10, “The whole world is one family---the 4th Exhibition of Art Collections of Embassies in China” will be held in Ordos Bronzes Museum, inviting envoys, mainly those from Asian countries to attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition and other activities.

Asia Sculpture Arts Theme Park

A bronze memorial caldron will be set in the sculpture park in honor of the ministerial round-table meeting, which will be unveiled by ministers from each country.

Representative sculptures from 23 Asian countries will be erected in the park, and the design solution is provided by professional sculpture designing units and finally decided under each country’s suggestions.

A bronze sculpture group featuring Ordos bronze and grassland culture will also be set up in the theme park.

About Eleventh Asian Arts Festival to be held in Ordos

The Eleventh Asian Arts Festival has been organized into 10 sessions since 1998. The first several sessions were held in Beijing, and since 2004, it was held in Hangzhou, Changchun, Foshan, Nantong and Zhengzhou successively. According to statistics, more than 150 artistic groups in total from 25 Asian countries have participated in the AAF since its first session and nearly ten million people have been involved.

The Asia Arts Festival is an important platform for exhibiting Asian cultures, enriching people’s cultural life and promoting exchange and cooperation of cultures in Asia.