The month-long arts festival will open with a concert by Charlie Siem and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at Wuxi Grand Theater on Oct 18. [Photo/ artsbird.com]

Wuxi is set to host a series of high-profile arts events over the next month as part of the upcoming 19th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

Wuxi has being hosting cultural events parallel to the festival since 2012. This year, events will be taking place across the city from Oct 18 to Nov 20.

The season will kick off with a concert by Charlie Siem and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Wuxi Grand Theater on Oct 18, and close a performance of the modern Peking opera Tsing Yi at the same venue.

Similar to past years, this year's events will include stage shows, cultural exhibitions and opera performances, making it a platform for domestic and foreign culture exchange and dissemination.

The biggest draw is set to be the dozen productions by well-known theater companies from home and abroad, which will include performances of Night, Mother by Perry Chui Experimental Theatre and a musical version of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone.

Local art troupes in Wuxi will stage nine quality stage productions as a special part of this year's session.

A total of 120 events in total will be held in Wuxi during the festival. In keeping with this year's theme of "A Festival of Arts, a Gala for All", the government will be providing a number of cheap tickets for local residents to allow anyone to experience the grand cultural event.