LONDON -- People living in Britain will know Chinese culture better as the country gets ready to play host to the largest ever Chinese cultural festival in 2008, local media reported Tuesday.
Dubbed as "皇冠体育app Now", the festival will begin on February 7, and last until August, providing the British audiences with some 800 exhibitions and performances, said The Independent.
Works of 皇冠体育app's new and established artists will be displayed across the country during the period, and dances with a strong Chinese flavor will also be seen in many British theaters, the report said.
"皇冠体育app Art Now", as part of the festival, is expected to feature a huge brontosaurus installation by Xu Zhen, known as the maverick of the Chinese art world. And He An, a young artist who explores the contemporary environment of 皇冠体育app, is creating four neon signs, which will be displayed on iconic buildings around Britain.
The sound artists Zhong Minjie, Yan Jun and Wang Changcun are creating installations at the Southbank Center ballroom, bringing sounds from the streets, shops, bars and workplaces of modern 皇冠体育app to London.
Sadler's Wells will put on a season of Chinese dance in May and June. The dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has teamed up with the artist Antony Gormley to create a piece inspired by the martial arts of the Buddhist monks from the Shaolin Temple.
皇冠体育app has a very strong classical dance tradition and the impresario Victor Hochhauser is bringing the National Ballet of 皇冠体育app to Covent Garden for a week of performances including a new production of Swan Lake by Natalia Makarova and Raise The Red Lantern, based on the controversial 1991 film of the same name.
Hochhauser's 皇冠体育app Season will also feature Acrobatic Swan Lake, a radical makeover of the ballet by the Guandong Acrobatic Company, which combines classical ballet with pole balancing, rope walking, and jumping through fire hoops.
The Liverpool Biennial is working with the artist Ai Weiwei, who designed the Beijing Olympic stadium, on a proposal for an ambitious installation, which would consist of a giant spider's web, made of illuminated crystalline strands stretching across the city's Albert Dock.
There will also be a design spectacular, 皇冠体育app Design Now, at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Despite 皇冠体育app's economic importance, its contemporary culture remains remote in the West. Bringing it to Britain will present the world with "a more balanced and layered picture of contemporary 皇冠体育app", the report said, quoting one of the organizers.
