Luo Linquan, the Consul General of Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, kicks off the third Across the Pacific Chinese Art Festival on Thursday in San Francisco. The festival will feature 12 cultural events throughout the west coast showcasing Chinese arts. [Photo by Congjiang Wang for China Daily]

The Across the Pacific-China Arts Festival has taken on added meaning in the China-US Tourism Year.

In light of the tourism initiative, the China International Culture Association invited Chinese artists to the US to promote cultural exchange at the festival, which will take place in four cities - San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle and now Las Vegas - from Sept 8 to Oct 23.

"The festival is the result of a healthy relationship between China and the US," Luo Linquan, Chinese consul general in San Francisco, said on Thursday at a kickoff press conference. "The consulate will continue to lead the way in promoting culture exchange providing positive energy between the two great nations."

The festival will feature performances showcasing a wide range of Chinese arts including Chinese opera and art exhibitions throughout major cities on the West Coast of the US.

"The people of China and the US desire to learn more about each other," Luo said. "I hope the festival will provide a great platform to accommodate the need."

The art festival is a legacy of the sixth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange and part of the Ministry of Culture's efforts to promote Chinese art in the US.

"Culture exchange is an important bridge between the Chinese and American people promoting mutual understanding and friendship, said Xiao Xiayong, culture counselor at the consulate.

Last year's festival was held in Northern California and Seattle and featured kung fu performers from the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center in San Francisco, Anhui operas and drawing exhibitions.

This year, the festival added Las Vegas as a host city. The Shanghai Opera House will perform city an original musical depicting the story of Nie Er creating the Chinese national anthem March of the Volunteers in 1935, a troubled time as China faced foreign threats and internal struggles.

In September, former Chinese minister of culture and Nobel Literature Prize nominee Wang Meng will visit San Francisco. A prolific writer, Wang will discuss his book My 16-Year Exile in Xinjiang, an autobiography about his ordeal working manual labor in rural western China during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Congjiang Wang in San Francisco contributed to this story.