The opening ceremony for the 2021 China CEEC Youth Art Week takes place in Ningbo on June 8. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2021 China CEEC Youth Art Week kicked off on June 8 in the district of Beilun in Ningbo city, located in East China's Zhejiang province.

The ongoing event, which runs to June 25, is part of the second China-Central & Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair, also being held in Ningbo.

The art week is being themed on "From East to East". Apart from the opening ceremony on the first day, it features a contemporary printmaking exchange exhibition and the Guardian Coastline Central and Eastern European Youth Training and Exchange Camp, among other things.

"We hope to use this art week as a platform to deepen innovative humanities exchanges and broaden the scope of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries," according to senior official of the event's organizers.

"It is also hoped that the art week can galvanize the power of the youth in China and in the Central and Eastern European countries to create a pioneering position for youth culture in Beilun," added the official, who is at the Beilun Culture, Broadcast, TV, Tourism and Sports Bureau.

On the evening of June 8, a grand evening gala was staged, planned and directed by Shi Bo, a foreign exchange expert from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

It featured performing arts acts from China, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and other Central and Eastern European countries -- presenting a visual and sound arts feast.