Actors perform during the opening ceremony of the fifth Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

The fifth Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival kicked off Friday in Quanzhou in east China's Fujian Province, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The festival, which will last until Dec. 13, has attracted over 1,600 artists and 52 troupes from 43 countries and regions.

The art festival will feature a Belt and Road art exhibition, an international symposium on art development, an intangible cultural heritage exhibition on the Maritime Silk Road, and diversified art performances.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the government of Fujian Province, the event was initiated in 2014. The first four editions of this festival have attracted extensive participation from international organizations, officials, scholars and art circles from more than 60 countries and regions.