The annual folk song festival, which has run 12 years, has been entertaining people and offering an art gala.

The Nanning International Folk Song Art Festival, scheduled to open on Friday night, will put the city in the limelight once again.

The annual event, which started in 1999, has attracted top artists from around the world and offered a wide variety of art over its 12-year lifespan.

It offers a heavy mix of ethnic customs from all over, international vision and a modern style, and has played an active role in promoting cultural exchanges between different countries.

In the meantime, Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was made the permanent site of the China-ASEAN Exposition in 2004, so the folk festival can run concurrently and be tied to the expo's opening ceremony. This has helped the festival gain a wider international reputation.

In 2005, the International Festivals & Events Association called the Nanning folk festival one of China's most internationally influential festivals.

In 2006, the festival organizers, together with China Central Television and Austria's national television station, expanded the Nanning festival's influence to Europe while celebrating the 35th anniversary of Sino-Austrian relations.

More than a third of Guangxi's people are members of ethnic groups, and the region has long been known as the home of folk songs, which is still a way to express friendship and love in many villages.

The festival also provides a place for cultural exchanges and to show the city's unique charms to the world.

The event is also used to promote tourism and to help bring investment to the city.

This year's festival is expected to be more attractive and more influential in its artistry, modernity and internationalism to increase cultural interaction with other countries. It will focus on the local Zhuang ethnic culture and the traditional friendship between China and ASEAN.

(China Daily 10/20/2011 page18)