The poster of 2013 Cultural Festival is quite eye-catching, in which a hot air balloon with the intersection of red, white and blue colors is rising to the sky, the symbol of journey from France to China. It is known that the hot air balloon is the French invention, which was the advanced technology at that time. “It might take 85 days to cover the distance from France to China by the hot air balloon.” At the opening ceremony, such a remark with French humor filled the guests with the full expectations towards this festival.

The Cultural Festival of this year will present 160 sessions of performances within 77 categories in 23 Chinese cities, viz. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Nanjing, Changzhou, Jinan, Guiyang, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Kunming, Dalian, Zhuhai, Lijiang, Foshan(Shunde), Zhongshan, Shaoxing and Tongxiang(Wu Town). It lasts for 85 days from April 10th to July 3rd and showcases every aspect of French culture, including traditional culture and contemporary arts as well. The Cultural Festival is characterized with the preeminence, prestige, originality and creativity. Bermann remarked, she hoped to present the most brilliant and original art forms of France through this platform.

Jean Jacques Annaud, who is producing the film based on Chinese novel, Wolf Totem has said that it realized his dream. He was very eager to know China better and tried to put these contents into his film, which was a quite interesting creation.“There are many common grounds between French and Chinese nations, as their passion for life and art is the same.”He said, in France, people held Chinese culture in high esteem and there were three aspects of Chinese culture which fascinated him.“The industrious spirit of Chinese is hard to be found in westerners and I am willing to work with those who have the intentions of working. When Chinese take a meal, they will sit down together by the round table with the dishes on the rotating plate. The culture of gathering is different from the western one that attaches the importance to the individuality. The most important thing is that Chinese lay emphasis on history, which means that this nation has its own root.”He frequently mentioned to his friends the unique vigor of China at present and felt that China was a country with the willingness to embrace the future. This feeling brought him the pleasure and power.“I quite admire the smiles of Chinese friends.”On the other hand, according to Jean Jacques Annaud, it was very important to introduce the culture of France, the important country in Europe, to China. He remarked, France is quite willing to support art creation and have the long-term supporting policy, so France is a very attractive country for Chinese artists.”