A summer art festival featuring Dunhuang's millennia-old culture and the history of the ancient Silk Road opened on Saturday in Dunhuang in northwest China's Gansu Province, drawing large crowds of tourists eager to soak in the vibes.
The event, hosted by the Dunhuang Culture and Tourism Group, will run for three months through October 15, as part of a broader push to revitalize Dunhuang's prime tourism resources and establish a signature summer cultural and tourism brand for the city.
A considerable number of foreign tourists attended the opening ceremony on Saturday evening to enjoy the dazzling light displays and art installations.
Organizers say the festival will offer a regular lineup of activities including dance performances, Hanfu shows and summer bazaars throughout the event period, aimed at enriching the nighttime cultural and tourism experience for locals and tourists.
More than 2,000 years ago, Dunhuang was a vital crossroads on the ancient Silk Road. Chinese silk and tea moved westward through the city, while grapes, carrots, pomegranates and other once-exotic produce found their way into China via this route.
The city remains one of China's most important cultural landmarks and is home to the Mogao Grottoes, which feature 735 ancient caves, more than 2,000 painted sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals dating back to the 4th century.
Silk Road-themed art festival opens in Dunhuang
A wave of state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and major insurers have announced share buybacks, stake increasess, and dividend payouts over the past two days, signaling strong confidence in China's capital market.
On Monday, four of the country's largest insurers -- China Pacific Insurance, Ping An, the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) and New China Life Insurance (NCI), issued rare coordinated statements voicing firm support for the capital market.
The statements came alongside a fresh round of buyback and stake-increase initiatives from major central state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Insurers said they are prepared to increase investments in technology and new businesses, with plans to expand equity holdings and support projects that drive innovation and operational efficiency.
"China's economy is resilient and robust. New growth drivers represented by high-end manufacturing and the digital economy are accelerating. The dividends of industrial upgrading and technological innovation are being realized at the listed company level, providing solid fundamental support for the steady and healthy development of the capital market. In recent years, the PICC has steadily increased equity allocations, actively participated in the long-term stock investment pilot, and established a 10-billion-yuan private securities investment fund. We have also stepped up investment research in technological innovation, green and low-carbon development, healthcare, and other areas, and are committed to building a long-term, stable, and balanced equity investment portfolio," said Cai Zhiwei, vice president of the PICC.
"We play our role as long-term and patient investors. While investing in value stocks, we are also actively keeping an eye on new industries, new quality productive forces, new technologies, new energy, and new infrastructure. We believe these are very important forces that China can rely on to compete globally in the future," said Sheng Ruisheng, board secretary and chief brand officer of Ping An Insurance.
China Aluminum led the way with a share purchase plan valued up to 2 billion yuan, an equivalence of about 295 million U.S. dollars.
NARI Technology announced a repurchase program ranging from 500 million to 1 billion yuan.
These moves followed Sunday's announcements from state-owned investment firms China Reform Holdings and China Chengtong, which disclosed cumulative purchases of 50 billion yuan and nearly 10 billion yuan in central SOE stocks.
Citigroup has raised its rating on Chinese stocks to "overweight" from "neutral," signaling greater confidence in Chinese assets for the second half of this year.
In a research note released Monday, Citi analysts said China's equity market is well-positioned to gain from a favorable global backdrop and a recovery in corporate profits.
The report noted that investment opportunities in emerging markets are undergoing structural changes. Citi sees more room for upside if geopolitical risks subside, global liquidity improves, and macroeconomic conditions stay supportive.
The bank also forecasts strong earnings growth for MSCI Emerging Markets Index companies this year, with China and the Republic of Korea expected to be among the best performers.
Chinese state-owned firms, insurers step up measures to boost market confidence
