Chinese Miao group singers perform song at the opening ceremony of the China Now Festival held at the Harbourfront center on July 11 in Toronto. [Li Na/China Daily]

After watching one hour of music and dance performances by Chinese ethnic artists, Toronto audience member Scarlett Lewis told China Daily that she can now visualize images of Chinese villages that are portrayed in the novel The Good Earth by noted author Pearl S. Buck, who was known as Sai Zhenzhu in China.

The imagery was the result of the Legacy of China at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, where the China Now festival, an unprecedented exploration of Chinese arts and culture, was held on July 11-13.

With over 100 artists venturing to the Centre from China and other Chinese communities around the world, this festival highlighted the intersections that define and shape Chinese arts and culture inside and outside of the country. The display included live music, dance, food demonstrations, artisanal crafts and more. The festival provided patrons with an opportunity to experience a taste of contemporary Chinese arts and culture in one setting.

H.E. Luo Zhaohui, the new Chinese Ambassador to Canada, joined the festival's ribbon-cutting ceremony. As one of the highlights from this year's cultural exchanges between China and Canada, Luo said the festival represents a window for Canadians to explore traditional Chinese culture.

"The festival is also a platform for the Canadian people to understand Chinese culture and a bridge linking the people of our two countries," he said.

According to Luo, China and Canada have had several cultural exchanges. The National Ballet of China and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada completed successful performance tours in each country last year, and both were warmly welcomed by the audiences.

"With China Now Festival now staging in Canada, the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples will be further strengthened," Luo said.

"We have invited over 70 folk artists from China to present various forms of Chinese folk arts and culture, such as folk songs and dance, Chinese Kung Fu, paper-cutting, calligraphy, kite-making, embroidery, porcelain and cooking," said Cai Lian, head of the Chinese Artist Delegation.

Harbourfront Centre is the sole North American destination outside of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington for this unprecedented showcase of Chinese culture.

"The festival will make people understand the incredible diversity of Chinese culture and incredible dynamism of China through experiencing the hundred of artists," said William J.S. Boyle, CEO of Harbourfront Centre.

As a partnership working with Harbourfront Centre and China International Culture Association, the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture (Can4Culture) has been the driving force behind it all. The group arranged for Canadian artistic supervisors to travel to China to meet the Chinese artists and build a bridge of understanding between them.

"We are brought together because of the art and culture. Through culture, we are bonded, and have been transcending differences and national boundaries, fostering relations between the peoples of Canada and China," said Nelly Ng, chairwoman of Can4Culture.

Canada's Minister of Finance Joe Oliver believes the people-to-people ties between the two countries are significant.

"Chinese Canadians have made enormous contributions in this country's history, culture and economy," said Oliver. "The China Now festival provides Canada with the opportunity to further understand and appreciate the richest parts of this cultural tapestry."

There are almost a million and half Canadians with Chinese origins, which is one of the largest overseas Chinese communities in the world. Close to 70,000 Chinese students attend Canadian schools, and Chinese is the third most spoken language in Canada.

According to Oliver, China has become Canada's second largest trade partner. Canadian exports to China have more than quadrupled since 2003.

"In a market of 1.4 billion people, China represents an enormous opportunity for Canadian business," Oliver said.

Highlights of the three-day festival included the Shanghai Restoration Project; folk music from across China's ethnic landscape including Inner Mongolia and Miao; Chinese Artisan Village, where artisans and performers were culled from across China to demonstrate art and craft forms ranging from kite-making to puppetry and martial arts.

renali@chinadailyusa.com