The eighth Cross-Straits (Xiamen) Cultural Industries Fair opens at the International Exhibition Center in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Friday. [Photo by Hu Meidong / China Daily]

Handicrafts a highlight of State-level expo in Xiamen

The eighth Cross-Straits (Xiamen) Cultural Industries Fair opened on Friday and will last through Monday at the International Exhibition Center in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province in East China.

The fair is the only cultural expo that has "cross-Straits" in its name on the Chinese mainland, according to organizers.

In 2008, 501 companies from both sides of the Taiwan Straits joined the first fair, which was held at Xiamen's Culture and Art Center, covering an area of 20,000 square meters.

The third fair moved to the city's International Exhibition Center, with an area of 32,000 square meters and more than 1,300 booths.

In 2012, the fifth fair was upgraded to a State-level expo, hosted by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. Its area also expanded to 43,000 square meters with 2,200 booths.