The 13th Dalian International Fashion Festival opened in Dalian Saturday night with a gala involving singers and performers from the United States, Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan of China.

Wei Xiaopeng, an organizer of the festival, said the 10-day event features garments made by over 400 companies from more than 20 countries, including the US, Britain, Canada, the Republic of Korea, Japan and China.

On the sideline of the annual festival two fashion shows will be staged, one featuring products by Chinese designers and the other by famous international designers.

Dalian, a port city in northeast China, is home to 2,500 garment factories.

A total of 7 billion yuan (US$ 840 million) worth deals were signed at last year's festival.

(People's Daily 09/17/2001)