[caption id="attachment_15764" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="[Photo/Xinhua"]"][/caption]  The 12th Asia Arts Festival, co-held by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Chongqing Municipality, runs in southwest China's Chongqing municipality October 10-20, with more than 3000 performing artists from over 30 countries. The festival aims to promote "communication, blending, sharing, and harmony" with five major parts of 16 themed activities.  Artists from over 100 cultural institutions and organizations of more than 30 countries and regions have gathered in Chongqing to give audience 111 sessions of performances. The 12th Asia Arts Festival will also include meetings and forums including China-ASEAN costume exhibition, the 1st Asian Culture Forum on Development, and the 1st Asian Drama People Alliance meeting. The China and ASEAN (10+1) Cultural Ministerial Meeting will also be held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Asia Art Festival (AAF), approved by the State Council in 1998, is the first regional international art festival held in China.