China is spending 18 million yuan (US$2.2 million) on staging 30 artistic performances as the first stage of a national performing arts project this year, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) announced in Beijing Thursday.
The project, officially launched on Nov. 28 last year, will invest 40 million yuan (US$4.8 million) annually over the next five years, in about 50 top artistic performances.
Feng Yuan, director of the MOC's arts department, who is in charge of the selection, said the 30 performances, chosen from 166 possibles, showed the highest level of China's performing arts, each with a unique artistic style.
Feng said the 30 performances would be further appraised by experts, and 10 would be finally selected as the best performances of this year.
Feng revealed an evaluation mechanism of artistic troupes was on the MOC's schedule.
(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2003)
