Meet in Beijing, China's largest international festival, has recently named Canada as its guest country of honor for the event happening in 2016.
The signing ceremony for the arts festival was held in Beijing on Jan. 7. In attendance were Canadian Fund for International Understanding Through Culture President Nelly Ng and Chairman of the Board of the China Arts and Entertainment Group Zhang Yu. At the event, the two leaders signed an agreement that would officially make Canada as the guest country in 2016.
While the agreement has been signed only recently and planning for the event scheduled in 2016 has only started of late, numerous musical groups from Canada have already set a schedule for their performance at the said event. Among those who would be attending is the famous Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The event in 2016 is not the first cultural collaboration between the two countries. In July 2014, the Chinese Folk Culture Festival was held in Toronto. Folk artists trooped to Canada to feature different Chinese cultural heritages, which included food displays, musical performances, ethnic dances, clay sculptures and paper-cutting art, among many others.
The event was organized by the Canadian Fund for International Understanding Through Culture and the China Arts and Entertainment Group. The two organizations are also responsible for the Meet in Beijing in 2016.
Meet in Beijing is an annual arts festival held every May. The event aims to spread traditional culture of the Chinese and introduce foreign arts as well as to encourage mutual cultural exchanges.
Since its beginning in 2000, Meet in Beijing has become China's largest cultural event and has attracted a number of visitors each year. Many look forward to the performances of the invited foreign artists yearly.
Russia, Australia and Mexico are just a few of those who have been the featured countries in the past.