About 140 creative events will be held in Shenzhen during the city's eighth Creative December, which kicked off over the weekend with an international design festival.
Designers from more than 20 countries, including the United States, Germany, Canada and Kenya, shared their professional experience and ideas during the two-day opening ceremony of the JBCIDU International Design Cultural Festival in Shenzhen, one of the major events of this year's Creative December.
Initiated in 2005, Creative December is a month long cultural gala that aims to boost Shenzhen's cultural industries and encourage the public to participate in cultural events.
This year's Creative December features more professional, global cultural events than previous years and emphasizes more interaction with the public, Liu Zhangbiao, vice director of the city's publicity department, said Friday.
This year's total of 140 creative events is a 59-percent increase from last year and includes a number of international festivals and activities. A Holland carnival, for example, will be held throughout December at the central square of Holland Flower Town in Nanshan District.
About 30 artists from more than 10 countries will perform at a creative concert, "Music for Cultural Harmony," at Shenzhen Concert Hall on Friday. "The Quest for Immortality," a touring exhibition of ancient Egyptian civilization, will be launched Dec. 31 in Shenzhen, with a total of 265 items from the Bolton Museum in Great Britain displayed on the Chinese mainland for the first time.
High-level professional design events on the Creative December schedule, in addition to the festival that began over the weekend, include the China International Industrial Design Festival and the China Design Exhibition.
Shenzhen Creative Cultural Center will launch a creative design award for UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, selecting from entries from all participating cities.
Creative December will also feature interactive activities, including the city's first lantern-riddles cultural festival, a creative dance competition, a fashionable shopping festival and a cosplay carnival.
The organizing committee will hold a closing ceremony for the gala for the first time Jan. 15, 2013. The top 10 event organizers will receive awards.
(Source: Shenzhen Daily)