On October 18, the second Yangtze River Cultural and Art Exchange Week kicked off in Wuhu, Anhui province, under the theme “Promoting Integration Development through Yangtze Culture.”
The event is organized around six main themes: “Embracing the Yangtze,” “Singing the Yangtze,” “Reciting the Yangtze,” “Capturing the Essence of the Yangtze,” “Savoring the Yangtze,” and “The Light and Shadow of the Yangtze.” It features 21 carefully curated cultural activities that aim to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Yangtze River, activate its historical and cultural resources, and promote cultural and tourism exchanges among cities in the Yangtze River basin.
At the opening ceremony, themed “Eight Hundred Miles of the Wanjiang River, Composing a New Chapter of Our Times,” several tourism routes were unveiled, highlighting the beauty of the five riverside cities in Anhui. Additionally, a grand dance event titled “A Thousand Miles in Graceful Dance” celebrated the dynamic art scene of the Yangtze River area.
The event also showcased a variety of intangible cultural heritage items, including a culinary exhibition and traditional dragon and fish lantern parades. Representatives from 100 intangible cultural heritage projects and 200 inheritors from the Yangtze River basin gathered in Wuhu, creating an immersive and innovative cultural festival filled with delightful sights, sounds, flavors, and experiences.
To further enhance accessibility to high-quality cultural resources, the event took place at the riverside park’s outdoor theater, moving acclaimed performances such as Huangmei Opera’s “Iron Painting Love” and Symphony “Ode to the Red Flag” to a larger audience.
Throughout the festival, specialized exhibitions such as “Symbols of Peace: Commemorating the National Landscape Painting Master Invitation Exhibition” were held at the Wuhu Museum. The city also hosted a themed book exhibition commemorating the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign and the “Thousand-Year Cultural Verse of the River City” poetry competition, allowing residents and visitors to deeply immerse themselves in the charm of Yangtze culture.
The event was co-hosted by the Anhui Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Wuhu Municipal People’s Government, with support from the Anhui Intangible Cultural Heritage Center, the Wuhu Municipal Committee Propaganda Department, and the Wuhu Bureau of Culture and Tourism.