The Southern Fujian Cultural Festival, the annual celebration and showcase of local culture held in the province's Quanzhou city, will be incorporated into the ongoing Straits Forum for the first time.

The festival's incorporation into the forum - held in the provience's Xiamen city - highlights cultural ties between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, according to organizers. The forum opened on June 15 and will last through Friday.

"Taiwan and southern Fujian share the same dialect and cultural roots," said Huang Shaoping, Party chief of Quanzhou.