BERLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The 6th Sino-German Culture Festival themed "Her" kicked off on Thursday, gathering almost 100 female artists from the two countries.

"The theme of the 6th Sino-German Culture Festival is 'Her,' which should not be understood as being feminist," said Wolfram Wickert, chairman of the event organizer Bambuspforte Association. "It should only be taken as a good occasion that female artists from both China and Germany gather for intercultural communication."

The 11-day festival features operas, art and photo exhibitions, concerts, dance performances and readings.

During the opening ceremony, Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller said the Sino-German Culture Festival has contributed greatly to the cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"The theme for this year is a heated political and social topic, which is already at the center of many discussions," he said, adding that the festival offered a unique opportunity for female artists to have trans-cultural communication.

Chen Ping, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany, said that over the last 70 years, especially since the beginning of China's reform and opening-up, the status of women in China has been largely improved.

Women are playing a more and more important role in the Chinese society, and the festival is a good opportunity to show that to the German society, he added.

After the opening ceremony, artists from China Federation of Literary and Art Circles played Chinese traditional music instruments like Konghou, Guqin and Pipa, while artists from Berlin performed ballet and choruses.