Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Dancers from Shanghai and Sydney perform "Hua Mulan" yesterday at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, as two performances linking local troupes with overseas counterparts kicked off the Seventh China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The monthlong festival features 45 performances including 23 from overseas, 19 exhibitions, seminars, musical competitions and an art fair.

The curtain was raised last evening on the annual Shanghai International Arts Festival, with 45 shows to be staged over the coming month for the enjoyment of local enthusiasts.
Shows include the acrobatic performance "Era" co-produced by Shanghai Circus World and Cirque du Soleil, the ethnic musical "Visitor from the Ice Mountain" by Xinjiang Opera House, the drama "The Taming of The Shrew" by Teatr Dramatyczny of Warsaw, a symphonic concert by Myung-Whun Chung and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the ballet "La Boheme" by the West Australian Ballet.
Though this year's shows number 25 percent fewer than last year, the organizer will provide the same amount of discount tickets so as to ensure local people have easy access to the high-level entertainments, according to Chen Shenglai, president of the Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF).  The festival is an event of the common people, he pointed out.  The 50,000 discount tickets are priced at 10 yuan (US$1.2) to 100 yuan each.
Local people are showing an increasing interest in the arts, as reflected in the fact that ticket sales have stood above 90 percent for the past three years.  "Our ticket hotlines have been constantly ringing these past two days for the concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra," said Lin Hongming, general manager of the Oriental Art Center.