Su Gongting, a publicity staff member from the provincial cultural department, said the promotion of cultural activities would give farmers initiative to develop their own regional cultural specialties, such as dragon boat races and paper cutting.

    At the same time, they could incorporate some modern and new "cultural genes" into their entertainment, she said. She said some villages even began to offer Latin American dance lessons that were modified to more closely resemble the local villagers' tastes.

    "We have to plant the seeds culture into local soil and let them grow instead of merely spreading them," Su said.

    Since 1996, when China launched the initiative to send performing artists to remote areas to offer cultural services to farmers, the number of local art troupes has increased sharply, Su said.

    Fujian alone now boasts more than 800 folk performance troupes. Villagers are now able to enjoy shows with more regularity, he said.

    The Ministry of Culture has mobilized nine art troupes to visit 19 provinces and municipalities in a bid to enhance the cultural atmosphere through grassroots organizations during the Spring Festival.

    The nine art troupes, which include the National Ballet of China and China National Symphony Orchestra, are slated for 130 performances in ethnic groups-inhabited regions, border areas and poverty-stricken places during the Spring Festival.

    State-level art troupes visit these places during big festivities either because of their historical significance or because people in those places have fewer chances to watch high-quality shows.

    In Fujian, the cultural department has arranged three big events ahead of the festival. Two of them are scheduled on January19 and 20.

    The Fujian experimental Min opera house, a major player in the festivities, is scheduled for three performances a day.

    Chen Mei, head of the opera house who will lead the artists from one village to another, said government-backed cultural activities had greatly mobilized rural residents participation in cultural activities.

    According to Chen, villagers and farmers began to build halls to accommodate visiting art groups and draw more troupes to their villages.

    In Guanghui Village of Lin'an City in Zhejiang Province, villagers gathered in halls during the evenings or slow seasons to sing Yue Opera, a 800-years-old art form noted for its lyricism and sweet tunes. Sixty-two year-old Chen Zhigen would pick up his Chinese brushes to draw pictures in a local painting training center.