The Second Silk Road International Arts Festival will be held in Xi'an, capital of West China's Shaanxi province, from Sept 7 to 21.

In ancient times, the Silk Road was a network of trade and cultural-exchange routes connecting the West and the East, used by merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea.

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the One Belt and One Road initiative to revive overseas cooperation along the Silk Road and the marine routes.

With this background, Xi'an hosted the first Silk Road Arts Festival last year to attract artists and companies around the world to the city, which was the capital of Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the starting point of the Silk Road in the East.

This year, artists and companies from some 50 countries will participate in the three-week festival, which includes performances, exhibitions, animation-design competition, workshops and seminars.