Intl heritage festival to be held in Chengdu

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Sichuan provincial government will co-host the 8th International Festival of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chengdu, the provincial capital, from Oct 12 to 16.

The festival will open with a parade featuring more than 40 traditional performance teams from both China and abroad, Chen Zhiyong, vice-mayor of Chengdu, said at a news conference earlier this month.

A series of other events will also be held, including a forum attended by more than 140 experts and scholars in intangible cultural heritage from China and other countries, an exhibition of handicrafts from 15 countries and a conference on traditional medicine, according to Chen.

Launched in 2007, the international festival is the first major cultural festival in the world held to promote the protection of intangible cultural heritage, said Shi Zeyi, an official from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Over the years, more than 2,000 events related to the festival have been held, attracting nearly 60,000 representatives from more than 130 countries, regions and nongovernmental organizations, Shi said.

The festival is one of two international cultural events the ministry will co-host in October. The other is the 19th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival, which will be held in Hebei province.

Shanghai to host Invest in China Year event

The Ministry of Commerce will host an Invest in China Year summit during the 6th China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November, ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a recent news conference.

China launched the Invest in China Year events in March in an effort to attract more foreign investment.

Transnational companies have paid close attention to the events, which showcase China's resources, industries and business environment and help them better understand the nation, He said.

He said transnational companies will continue to invest in China because it has a huge market and sound supply chain, and it is furthering its opening-up efforts.

Ministry promotes fruit industry in Guangxi

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held a meeting in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to promote the high-quality development of China's fruit industry.

It was emphasized at the meeting that the country needs to stabilize its fruit production while adequately managing land used for fruit growing.

A goal was set at the meeting that by 2030, the country will limit its orchard lands to 10 million hectares that will produce about 200 million metric tons of fruit.

The country needs to further improve the quality of its fruit, the performance of its fruit industry and the industry's sustainable development capabilities, the ministry said.

Efforts should also be made to control the scale of the fruit industry and strictly implement the country's policy of prioritizing farmland for planting crops, it said.