The 5th Cross-Straits Cultural Indus- tries Fair will be held from Oct. 26 to 29 in Xiamen city， East China’s Fujian province， officials said on August 23.

The four-day event will consist of exhibitions， forums to discuss cross-Straits cultural exchanges and folk art performances.

The fair will be held in Xiamen’s International Conference and Exhibition Center， with a total of 3，000 booths for exhibitions， an increase of 50% over last year.

The fair has so far attracted about 500 entertainment， TV and movie companies from Taiwan for business opportunities with their mainland counterparts， Li Qiang， deputy secretary of the Fujian provincial government， said during a press conference in Beijing.

A good number of the top 30 Chinese companies in the cultural industry and large companies owned by the central government have signed up for the expo， including China Mobile， China Telecom， China International Television Corporation， Poly Culture Group， China Arts Entertainment Group.

Besides， provinces and municipalities such as Hubei， Jiangsu and Guangzhou are also going to stage exhibitions at the show.

Huang Qiang， vice-Mayor of Xiamen， said an animation festival and a cross-Straits folk art fair will be held during the same period.

Forums themed on digital content and new media， cultural investment， creative design， performance， to name a few， will also be held during the fair.

Authorities are expected to disclose new policies aimed at boosting the development of cultural industries for the two sides.

Huang said the fair is now the most important platform for improving cultural exchanges across the Straits.

Founded in 2008， the fair is co-hosted by the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， the Ministry of Culture， the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council， the General Administration of Press and Publication， and Fujian Provincial government， and undertaken by Xiamen government annually.

In 2011， 155 projects worth RMB 35.9 billion were signed during the Fourth CrossStrait Cultural Industries Fair， and it attracted over 300，000 visitors.