Visitors appreciate paintings at an art show held during the festival.

Grassroots art

The ongoing art festival has benefited city dwellers and residents of rural areas alike, organizers said.

Local farmer Wang Haijian said that many touring art troupes have performed in his town in recent years.

"I enjoy the performances very much, and it diversifies my life," Wang said.

Zhang Ying did not realize she had a gift for singing Lyuju, a traditional local opera, until she was invited to try by an art troupe, the native of a county-level city in Qingdao said.

"The opera has enriched my life. I won't miss any operas as long as they (opera performers) perform here," Zhang said, adding there are also other cultural activities, such as dances and films.

The local government of Shandong is also working hard to boost cultural and artistic industries.

In the past three years, more than 50,000 cultural activities have been held in schools, villages, communities as well as public squares in urban and rural areas across the province.

More than 20,000 tickets for performances and exhibitions are distributed for free to people like migrant workers and those with physical disabilities.

More than 59,000 cultural hubs and 60,000 reading rooms have been built at rural areas. Shandong has invested 9.8 billion yuan in construction and renovation of the culture and art facilities.

Those include 16 culture and art facilities such as museums and theatres.

One of them is the 5.65-billion-yuan Shandong Culture and Art Center, where the opening ceremony was held.

Covering an area of 32 hectares, the complex features a theater, a gallery, a museum, a cinema, shopping malls, as well as facilities for the creative industry.

The Shandong government has signed a contract with the China Performing Arts Agency to guarantee there will be at least 280 performances staged in the giant center every year.

The province spent 280 million yuan to cultivate cultural works during the past three years.

The move has created more than 1,100 grassroots cultural projects and 62 excellent operas, musicals and dramas. There are 39 nominated artists to compete for Qunxing Award at the 16-day festival, making Shandong on the top list among all the participating provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the local government.

Western art at the China Art Festival	'A Dream of Red Mansions' staged in Jinan