Street performers will soon gain legal status in Shanghai_美文

Street performers will soon gain legal status in Shanghai

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Street performers will soon be able to play their fiddles, drums and guitars and create art and crafts in Shanghai without being bothered by the police or urban management officers.

The city plans to launch an administrative system that will allow street performers to show their talents legitimately. "We'll be the first city in China to open arms to street-side performers," said Luo Huaizhen, a playwright who for the last eight years has urged the Shanghai People's Congress to allow street performers.

On Monday, the city's cultural administration decided to conduct a trial operation of street performers' management. The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV plans to select some public areas where street performers can set up.

Street performers in China are routinely driven away by the police or urban management officers. Luo said he felt sorry for them whenever he traveled abroad and saw how street performers in other countries livened up the scenery.

"People in China tend to have a bad impression about street performers, seeing them as beggars or homeless people. But in Europe, Japan as well as India - in Mumbai and New Delhi - you can always see artists and performers doing creative shows in public spaces," Luo said. "Quite a lot of good art in our history can trace its origin to the streets."

"People who visited the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai would remember the lively performances given in the waiting zone," said Chi Xiaoling, a staff member of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV. "That was good proof of the legitimacy of street art shows," she said.