The 2007 Sino-French Communication Festival began on April 12 and will last till mid June.

The China-France Culture Communication Festival is a culture exchange activity supported by the Chinese and French governments after the success of Sino-French Year. Compared with last year's event, this year's festival features a larger scale, richer content and more categories of art with visual arts and stage arts included. More than 100 cultural performances ranging from operas, concerts, movies, dances and plays, to literature activities, architecture, photograph exhibitions and fashion shows will be held in 14 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan, with about 100 French and Chinese artists involved.

Among the various programs, two literary activities stand out: the recitation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince" in French and Chinese and the poetry recitation activity "The Spring of Poets."

The popular activities which feature French culture, such as fashion shows, architecture and photograph exhibitions will be held next. A great many new French movies will be shown in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan during the French Movie Festival.

From May 26 to July 28, more than 200 world-ranked art collections from about 20 French castles and museums including Palace of Versailles will be exhibited in Beijing Laffitte Chateauotel. The exhibits include hand-made tapestries, porcelains, the jewelry of celebrities, exquisite furniture, statuaries, famous paintings and so on. Some famous masterpieces are also on display, such as collections from Chateau de Chenonceau. The portraits of young Louis XIV and XV which haven't been exhibited publicly before will also be included.

Bai Shangren, art director of the Sino-French Festival Culture Communication Festival, said that holding such an exchange activity doesn't mean setting up a French symbol in Asia but providing an opportunity for mutual understanding. The event is based on the cooperation of both sides and carries on the mission of Sino-French Year.

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