Expats attend the 39th China Orchid Pavilion International Calligraphy Festival in Shaoxing on April 22. [Photo provided to ezhejiang.gov.cn]

The 39th China Orchid Pavilion International Calligraphy Festival opened in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province on April 22.

The event is held each year on the third day of the third lunar month and attracts calligraphy lovers from home and abroad. Its name comes from a gathering of 42 calligraphers at Shaoxing's Orchid Pavilion, or Lanting Pavilion, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420).

The gathering was where Wang Xizhi (303-361), the most prominent figure in the history of Chinese calligraphy, created Lanting Xu (Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion) and made the pavilion a sacred place for calligraphy lovers.

To promote the legacy of Wang, the Shaoxing University has opened calligraphy classrooms in nine countries, including the United States, Italy, and Ukraine.

Foreign students showcase their calligraphy works during the China Orchid Pavilion International Calligraphy Festival on April 22. [Photo provided to ezhejiang.gov.cn]

This year marks the 1,720th anniversary of the birth of Wang Xizhi and the 1,670th anniversary of the creation of Lanting Xu, said Zhao Yanjun, president of the Zhejiang Calligrapher Association, during the event.

From April to October, the festival will include a calligraphy seminar, a national calligraphy competition for students, and an exhibition of the calligraphy and seal-cutting works of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean artists.