The 12th China Art Festival opened on Monday night at Shanghai Grand Theater with espionage dance drama “The Unfailing Radio Wave.” The nation’s top arts festival, held every three years in different cities, is in Shanghai for the first time and runs until June 2. The opening dance drama, a reinterpretation of the 1958 movie classic of the same name about a man who sacrificed his life as a secret telegraph operator in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), is one of the three local productions competing for the Wenhua Award, China’s top performing award for professionals. More than 30 nominees, selected from the best of the past three years around the country, will be shown in theaters around the city in the next two weeks. Nominees for the Qunxing Award, for amateur and community arts, will also be shown at various venues in the city. Both awards will be announced at the festival's closing ceremony.