Israeli audiences will have opportunity to savor a variety of ancient Chinese culture in the next few months, as the first China Cultural Festival is held starting from late May.

Zhang Xiao'an, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Israel, announced on Sunday at a press conference in Jerusalem that the feast would open on May 25 with the renowned Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe of China performing the acrobatic show Heroes.

Following the opening performances, a series of different Chinese cultural events will be held throughout Israel, including Chinese folk dance, folk music and songs, arts and crafts, photo exhibitions, plays, and movies.

The festival, which is jointly held by the Chinese and Israeli governments, is dedicated to mark the 15th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and will last for about six months until November 2007.

More than 200 performers from all over China will be traveling to Israel to participate in the event, and the festival will be the greatest event in the sphere of cultural exchanges between the two countries, said Zhang.

"The festival will open a broad vista where the richness and profoundness of Chinese culture vividly unfolds, and it will promote the cultural cooperation between China and Israel," she added.

Arthur Avnon, Head of Division for Cultural and Scientific Affairs in the Israeli Foreign Ministry also said at the conference that Israel is happy to host Chinese artists because, "cultural exchange is important for the two peoples."

"Besides the upcoming China Cultural Festival, Israel is also planning to hold a lot of cultural activities in China." he said.

According to Avnon, six Israeli dance groups are going to visit Shanghai to participate in the international cultural festival there. Israel is also planning a series of cultural-exchange activities in the fields of music and literature in China.

"We are very happy that all these activities are going on, we attach great importance to the relations between the two peoples, not only the governments," said Avnon.

In the past 15 years, bilateral relations between China and Israel have witnessed a rapid development and scored remarkable achievements.

The bilateral trade volume between the two nations has increased from US$50 million to 3.88 billion dollars over the past 15 years, with an average annual growth rate of 40 percent.

Currently, there are more than 800 Israeli commercial companies doing business in China, among which, more than 200 have set up branch companies.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2007)