The Ministry of Culture recently published a book on China's 258 top performing art troupes, the first publication of its kind.

The book is an encyclopedic tome illustrating the development, major works, and leading artists of the troupes with vivid pictures and text in Chinese and English.

The performing troupes were selected from among the country's more than 2,600 symphony orchestras, acrobatic troupes, dance companies, and drama and local opera companies.

China's long history of over 5,000 years and its vast territory has resulted in a great variety of performing arts, much of which is little known outside of the country, said Zhao Jichang, chief editor and head of the Center of Cultural and Artistic Talent attached to the Ministry of Culture.

Li Gang, head of the Bureau for External Cultural Relations, said that 1,000 copies of the book have been given to the Chinese embassies in other countries.

The book will be of great value to foreign performing arts agencies when deciding which Chinese troupes to invite to their countries, added Li.

He further disclosed that the ministry intends to focus on sending more Chinese performing arts troupes to other countries for both economic and social benefits.

The ministry is now making preparations for the performance of "Tea House," a well-known Chinese drama, in Britain later this year.

China's arts and cultural exchanges with foreign countries have grown rapidly in the last two decades.

Ministry statistics show that China's art troupes gave 486 performances in over 20 countries including Russia, the US, and Japan, and 299 performing delegations from more than 30 countries, such as the US, Britain, Japan, Russia, Thailand, and Brazil visited China last year.