China has seen prosperous development in various cultural undertakings
during the nation's ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), which
has greatly met the increasing demands of people's spiritual life.
A large amount of artistic work with wonderful and varied styles
has been produced in China, and domestic artistic groups have given
420,000 performances in the five years, attracting a total of 480
million audience, according to statistics from the State Development
Planning Commission.
Grass-roots cultural activities have also been increased, with
the implementation of a series of program which include building
culturally advanced counties, promoting cultural activities in the
country's border areas, and spreading artistic knowledge and improving
artistic skills of Chinese adolescents.
During the 1996-2000 period, the State Council has published the
fourth group of units for cultural relics protection, bringing the
total number of such units to 750. Meanwhile, 23 historic sites
in China have been put in the World Heritage list by the United
Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Museums and cultural organizations in China have held more than
6,400 displays and exhibitions, attracting an audience of more than
3.04 billion a year.
International cultural exchanges have also been promoted, and now
China is in contact with more than 1,000 cultural organizations
in over 160 countries and regions throughout the world, according
to commission.
(People's Daily 09/28/2000)
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