The Second Yangtze River Folk Art Expo opens in the port city of Zhangjiagang from Nov 5 to 7. [Photo?provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Second Yangtze River Folk Art Expo, hosted from Nov 5 to 7 in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, drew to an end at the Zhangjiagang Broadcast and Television Building on Nov 7.

Aimed at promoting the colorful and diverse folk culture in the Yangtze River region, the expo attracted some 200 folk artists from 12 provinces and regions, and featured more than 10,000 works of art, ranging from calligraphy and paintings, gourd pyrography, sculptures, and embroidery, to totemic objects and works of ethnic art.

A Suzhou embroidery work on display at the Second Yangtze River Folk Art Expo [Photo?provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A series of related activities were also held on the sidelines of the expo, including a creative arts and crafts competition and an intangible cultural heritage exhibition.

"The expo is a good embodiment of the exquisite arts in the Yangtze River region, and we hope it serves as a platform connecting artists across the region," said Acting Mayor Huang Ji.

A parallel Golden Chrysanthemum Award ceremony was held on Nov 7. Receiving 126 folk crafts from the Yangtze River region, 13 finalists were awarded with gold medals, including the bamboo carving masterpiece Big Rat from a folk artist Xu Haiqing in Hubei province, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Big Rat, a bamboo carving masterpiece wins a gold medal of the Golden Chrysanthemum Award. [Photo from WeChat account xinzhou_whly]