The first Shanghai International Art Festival was held in Shanghai in Nov. 1999. The picture shows Russian ballet dance "Swan Lake".

In the 50 years since the founding of the PRC, culture and art have experienced many ups and downs. Soon after the founding of the PRC, culture and art started to develop smoothly, and remarkable achievements were made. However, beginning in the late 1950s, especially during the ten years of the "cultural revolution," culture and art suffered enormously, and literary and artistic productivity was greatly hampered.

Since the initiation of the reform and opening policies in 1978, cultural and artistic work has made a sturdy revival. Since 1987, China has regularly held the Chinese Art Festival to introduce outstanding literary and art works. The cultural market is developing rapidly, and breakthroughs have been made in the construction of cultural facilities.

Performance of Chinese music.

Chinese acrobatics, songs, dances, Peking opera, local operas and symphonies have been well received in many countries. Exhibitions of Chinese cultural relics and handicrafts attract swarms of visitors wherever in the world they are staged.