Over the past 20 years, Chinese experts have made great efforts to compile a 300-volume book series on ethnic culture and folk arts.

According to a cultural official at a national cultural protection work conference hosted recently in this capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, about 165 volumes of the book, totaling five billion words, has been published thanks to the hard work of 50,000 editors.

To better protect ethnic culture and folk art, China started to carry out a massive drive to collect and compile the book in 1978.

The book includes 10 parts featuring diversified folk and ethnic art forms such as songs, operas, dances, music, musical instruments, singing ballads, storytelling, comedy, proverbs and handicrafts.

Statistics show that the book records over three million ballads, 350 opera schools, 17,000 folk dances and 15,000 folk songs.

Compilation and printing of all volumes of the book will be completed in 2004.

(People's Daily 11/15/2000)