Performance, exhibits, heritage on show for Culture Week, Hao Nan reports.

Jilin province is stepping up the tempo of its international outreach as a large cultural exchange activity was held in the Canadian cities of Regina and Vancouver as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco in the United States from Sept 4 to 12.

It was the first time that Jilin Culture Week was held in North America as various traditional artistic performances with Jilin characteristics were staged for audiences in two of the world's most advanced countries.

In the US, the event attracted more than 20 local government officials including city mayors, deputy mayors and California congressmen who participated in the opening ceremony and exhibitions, a rare situation for a provincial-level cultural event.

Organizers said the essence of such cultural exchanges is integration so they chose programs based on a full consideration of aesthetics in the US and Canada.

Main activities included exhibitions -of books, photos and intangible cultural heritage, as well as folk dance performances and concerts of Chinese folk music.

The cultural event received strong support and high recognition from the Chinese consulate generals in Los Angeles and San Francisco, said local government officials.

Liu Jian, China's consul general in Los Angeles, said performances by Jilin actors and actresses "effectively helped boost bilateral cultural exchanges between China and the US, and enhanced the local people's understanding to China and Jilin".

Yuan Nansheng, China's consul general in San Francisco, echoed Liu's comments, adding that the Jilin Symphony Orchestra brought a real acoustic and visual feast to US audiences.

Artistic performances staged in the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse and an Oakland theater also won rounds of applause from audiences.

The Jilin Symphony Orchestra performed a special artform at a concert that combined music with ancient Chinese painting to show beauty and prosperity along the banks of Songhua River.

Bruce Rogers, director of choral activities at Mt San Antonio College in Walnut, California, led a team of students performing with the orchestra.

An audience in LA said he understood the charm and meaning of the music.

"Chinese traditional arts are amazing and the Jilin Symphony Orchestra is also brilliant," he said.

An overseas Chinese in San Francisco posted a message on WeChat that said it was the first time that he saw Western musical instruments and Chinese folk music instruments appearing in one show, which was he found "perfect and very enjoyable".

Organizers also held a Chinese costumes show, a farmer painting show, a photo show of Changbai Mountains and a Jilin intangible cultural heritage exhibition in the luxury South Coast Plaza shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California.

The Changbai Mountains have some of China's top scenery and rich natural resources.

The photo show focused on the landscape, culture of local ethnic groups and the province's folk customs.

In addition, paper-cuts and farmer painting were also highlights of the intangible cultural heritage exhibition.

Jilin has nearly 230 intangible cultural heritage items covering literature, folk dancing, local opera, handcrafts and traditional medicines.

A local audience member said it was rare for the South Coast Plaza to host such activities and they were excited to have a good chance to watch Jilin culture.

The Culture Week was also part of a celebration of the 30th anniversary of friendship between Jilin and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

A band named the Darke Hall Five from the University of Regina and Jilin artists performed together with the theme of "One Stage, One Dream".

Contact the writer at haonan@chinadaily.com.cn