Promoting the ethnic minorities' cultural and artistic undertakings

In the early 1950s, the national-level Central Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble was established. In recent years, by undertaking the project of "Long Cultural Corridor Construction in the Border Areas," the projects of setting up county-level libraries and cultural centers, township and town cultural stations and village cultural rooms, the project of "extending radio and TV coverage to every village," and the national cultural information resources sharing project, the state has greatly improved the public cultural service system in the minority areas, and enriched the cultural life of the people of the minority areas. By the end of 2008 there were 10,282 cultural and art institutions across China, of which 651 were art troupes, 191 sites for art performances, 604libraries, 80 mass art centers, 643 cultural centers, 6,859 cultural stations and 240 museums. At present, the number of cultural institutions owned by every 100,000 people in the minority areas has already surpassed the national average.

The state actively protects the fine traditional cultures of the ethnic minorities. Tibetan opera, which has a history of over 500 years, is well preserved and flourishing. Every year it is a must for the Shoton Festival, and, together with other singing, dancing and drama performances, makes the festival a most joyous event of the Tibetan people. The traditional festivals of the ethnic minorities, such as the Mongolian Nadam Fair, the Ramadan Festival of the Hui, the Kurban Festival of the Uyghur, the Antiphonal Singing Day of the Zhuang, the Water Sprinkling Festival of the Dai, and the Torch Festival of the Yi, are well preserved and promoted. To date, more than 290 kinds of traditional ethnic sports have been revived and are thriving. The mural art of the Tibetans is being continuously enriched, and the Tibetan art of Tangka is well preserved. The carpets and wall hangings made by the Uyghur and Mongolian peoples are very popular in the Chinese market. The batik art of the Bouyei, Miao, Yao and Gelao ethnic groups as well as the tapestry art of the Tujia, Zhuang, Dai, Li and Dong ethnic groups have been greatly improved in designs, patterns and varieties. Thus the traditional crafts of the ethnic minorities have regained their vigor.

A large number of people with literary and artistic talent among the ethnic minorities are coming to the fore, and literary and artistic creation is becoming increasingly flourishing. There are 24 art colleges and secondary art schools in the five autonomous regions and Yunnan, Guizhou and Jilin provinces especially for training artistically talented people from among China's ethnic minorities. Nearly 600 writers of the ethnic minorities are members of the Chinese Writers' Association, constituting more than 10 percent of its total membership. A multitude of outstanding ethnic writers and artists, outstanding films, singing and dancing performances reflecting the life of minority peoples become most popular. Many such songs and dances have spread all over the country, and produced a wide influence both at home and abroad. It is stipulated in state regulations that the festival of performances of ethnic-minority arts shall beheld every four years. Three have been held already. In addition, the National Traditional Ethnic-Minority Sports Meet shall be held every five years, and eight have been held already. The "Stallion Award" competitions for films, television programs and literary works reflecting life of minority peoples are held regularly. In addition, there are various kinds of ethnic singing and dancing competitions. Through the Spring Festival Gala of the China Central TV, some good ethnic-minority performances are shown to the whole nation. All these have promoted the creation of top literary and art works of the ethnic minorities as well as cultural exchanges among all ethnic groups.