Yunnan said at a news conference on Oct 24 that a band qualification trial will be held from Nov 5 to 27 in Kunming's cultural creative park to enhance cultural innovation of youth.

The news conference invited a popular local band named Mayuan Poet to perform classic Chinese songs on stage, which aroused the enthusiasm of the audience. The band will be a judge in the upcoming competition.

"I hope that Yunnan's new bands can take an active part in the competition as the platform will not only give you opportunity to showcase your original songs but also suggest how to add more elements to your music," said Ku Guo, lead singer of Mayuan Poet.

So far eight bands have confirmed participation. The winners will receive monetary awards and stage-time in the 500 Mile Music Festival, Yunnan's most influential music event. Yunnan now considers the promotion of cultural innovation of youth to be a major task.

Zhang Qiu, authority of the Kunming Economic and Technology Development Zone, noted that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the zone will shift its focus to innovation and entrepreneurship development and build itself into the innovation core area of Kunming and even of Yunnan province as a whole.

Edited by Peter Nordlinger