Croisements 2011, the Franco-Chinese cultural festival, is a spring package that is full of cultural surprises.

Now in its sixth year, Croisements Festival is back with an innovative program of events that brings together famous French artists and the most talented contemporary Chinese artists for no less than 183 events, including dance, theatre, music and exhibitions, in 25 Chinese cities.

And Beijing will play host to over 50 of these events in the next couple of months.

For 2011, the Croisements Festival is promoting arts never before seen in China, including the debut in China of contemporary circus, an art form that fuses traditional circus skills with innovative artistic approaches. Three shows by the Ieto, Adrien M and Zarhbat companies as well as a series of talks held by Julien Rosenberg will enable spectators to discover the rich world of a discipline that does not yet enjoy a high profile in China.

The first season of baroque music ever to be staged in China, will also take place in Beijing. It promises to be a festival highlight with three prestigious French ensembles, Cafe Zimmermann, La Fenice and Gli Icogniti, performing.

True to its initial objective, Croisements Festival is also supporting Franco-Chinese artistic co-productions. For example, the Beijing Dance Theater has invited the choreographer Anthony Egea to create a piece for its "Middle" company and two accomplished French directors, Jean-Paul Wenzel and William Mesguich, will each put on a contemporary piece and a repertory piece, The Misanthrope by Moliere, using Chinese actors.

The international photography festival, Les Rencontres d'Arles, will present part of its program on the occasion of the second Caochangdi Photospring Festival in Beijing, while the 4th French Theater Meeting in Beijing boasts two great directors in-residence, Jean-Paul Wenzel and William Mesguich.

The festival is also supporting the 8th French Cinema Panorama in Beijing and other Chinese cities, featuring more than 10 carefully selected French films.

The Croisements Festival is also well known for its prestige events.

This year the pianist Bertrand Chamayou will present a recital in Beijing, entitled Liszt's Years of Pilgrimage and French choreographers, Jean-Claude Gallota and Dominique Boivin, will present trademark works from their repertoires.

Festival Croisements originated in 2006 from a shared desire on the part of the French and Chinese authorities to maintain the momentum gained during the "Annees Croisees France-China" artistic collaboration.

In 2005, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for the Annees Croisees to be extended toward "a never-ending future". In response, the French embassy in China proposed to the Chinese Ministry of Culture that the two countries collaborate on a large annual arts and culture festival.

The festival's perennial nature was then confirmed in the Franco-Chinese joint declaration signed during the state visit of the French President Jacques Chirac to China in October 2006.

Thanks to the support of Chinese public, the enthusiasm of both French and Chinese artists and coverage of events in the media, the festival attracted more than 855,000 spectators in 2010.

Sylvie Bermann, newly appointed French Ambassador to China, said she hopes the festival will enhance the dialogues between both artists and common people in the two countries, and help create a better world for the future.