The first China Folk Artist Exchange Conference will be held at the Quzhou Cultural and Art Center and the Lumingshan Cultural Academy Street on June 30.

The highlight of the conference is the preliminary evaluation of outstanding folk art for the 16th China Folk Literature and Art Mountain Flower Award.

The China Folk Literature and Art Mountain Flower Award is a national literary and artistic award jointly sponsored by the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. It is the highest honor for folk literature and art in China.

So far, the organizing committee has received 253 groups of works from 30 provinces across the country.

The exhibits cover more than 80 categories, including utensils, ceramics, sculptures, paper-cutting, weaving, calligraphy, painting and woodwork.

Another highlight of the conference is the China Folk Handicrafts Expo. The organizing committee has received more than 150 exhibition applications from more than 40 cities in 20 provinces across the country. About 10,000 folk handicrafts will be on display.

As the host of the conference, Quzhou has arranged for more than 30 folk craftsmen to attend the expo. Their works involve woodcutting, bamboo carving, stone carving, wood carving, root carving, ceramics, paper-cutting, bamboo weaving, tobacco pipes, sugar painting, and farmer painting.