Along with its reform, opening up progress and sustained economic growth, Zhejiang has not neglected progress in the field of culture and the arts.

The Stage is flourishing in the province. Zhejiang is the birthplace of the southern style of opera known as Shaoxing Opera. There are currently 98 theaters and 81 professional troupes specializing in the Shaoxing, Jinhua, Kun, Peking, Ningbo, Yuyao, Wenzhou and Tiaoqiaon styles of opera, as well as modern drama. In recent years, the province's theatrical circles have devoted great efforts to enhancing their creativity, renovation their art and fostering young artistic talent, with the result that several of their performances and outstanding performers have won national prizes. Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yueju Opera Troupe has won a fine reputation both at home and abroad. The Zhejiang Art School, a nation's key secondary school specializing in the arts, has trained a large number of opera performers, musicians and dancers.

Museums and Libraries are thriving in the province. Zhejiang is home to numerous cultural and historical sites. Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ninbo, Quzhou and Linhai are listed as national historical and cultural cities. Zhejiang also has 6 province-level historical and cultural cities, 15province-level historical and cultural protection sites. At the moment, there are 28 major state-level cultural protection sites, 323 under province protection and 1,855 under county protection. Those with the highest historical reputation are the sites of the Neolithic culture relics of Hemudu and Liangzhu, the cradles of Chinese civilization in the Yangtze River and the Yellow River valleys. Shaoxing is home to the Mausoleum of Yu the Great and the Orchid Pavilion, a shrine to Chinese calligraphy. 130 Museums and memorial halls are thriving through-out Zhejiang. The major ones are the Zhejiang Museum which houses over 100,000 cultural relics, the Chinese tea Museum, the Chinese Slik Museum, the Hangxhou Southern Song Guan Pottery Kiln Museum, the Huqingyutang Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Hemudu Relics Site Museum and the Museum of Liangzhu Culture. Zhejiang has long enjoyed a nation-wide reputation for its libraries. The Tianyi Tower in Ningbo and the Wenlan Tower in Hangzhou are still preserved as repositories of ancient manuscripts, training centers for archivists and centers for study and research. Zhejiang has 82 public libraries above the county level, and every township has a reading room. The Zhejiang Library, famous for housing the Complete Collection of the Chinese Classics in its Wenlan Tower, boasts 4.029 million volumes in its catalog. The library has completed its mew building and is open to the public.

Colorful popular culture is one of the hallmarks of the province. Zhejiang is the birthplace of many outstanding personages. Rich in folk culture and arts, the province has 12 popular art centers at the county level and 1,997 culture centers at the township level. There are 807 cinemas or theaters scattered throughout the province and 1,765 rural film projection teams. A network of mass cultural organizations at several levels which utilize a number of channels has taken shape. Popular cultural activities are pursued all the year round, including drama and opera, music, dancing, calligraphy, painting and photography, enlivened by all kinds of performances, exhibitions and competitions. Moreover, many fields of Zhejiang's mass cultural activities exert a considerable influence on other parts of the country, and the province has won 84 gold, silver or bronze galaxy Prize medals sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. Zhejiang now boasts a group of "national culturally advanced counties", "national cultural model prefecture", "China's towns of folk painting" and "China's towns of folk art".

Zhejiang Provincial Association for cultural Exchange with Foreign Countries
Address:1 Shengfu Road, Hangzhou City P.R.China
Tel:(0571)7052500 7057125
Fax:(0571)7054686
Zip code:310025

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