A total of 14 countries, 25 provinces as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan took part in the First Shanxi Cultural Industry Fair which attracted 200 thousand visitors and concluded on July 3. More than ten thousand products were displayed during the five-day event, and Li Gaoshan, deputy head of Shanxi provincial publicity department in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, attended the awards ceremony on the last day.

Li addressed the gathering and said that, in addition to showcasing the province's culture, the fair also established a platform for cultural exchanges and cooperation.

The event featured a combination of tradition and modernity with cultural products including traditional Chinese paper cutting, pottery, embroidery and lacquer, as well as products from Japan, South Korea and Russia displayed on the fair. A wide range of high-tech cultural products related to modern media technology and animation production were also exhibited.

In addition, agreements were reached relating to 360 projects , worth 170.5 billion yuan（$27.82 billion）, and contracts were signed concerning 161 of these projects in the cultural industry - with an emphasis on innovation, resource integration and market potential - totaling 73.5 billion yuan,

The fair's organizers also held activities aimed at promoting interaction among visitors, such as live artistic performances and auctions of works of art.

Edited?by Zhou Yuanyuan and Niva Whyman