Works of some of the Renaissance giants, including Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Raphael (1483-1520), are scheduled to go on show in Nanjing at an exhibition of the Italian Bellini family's collection of renaissance art this May.

The grand show will be one of the 53 activities to be held during the World Historical and Cultural Cities Expo, which will thrill local viewers from April 30 to May 5 in the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

More than 20 ancient cities are to display their charms at the expo. Of them 11 are from abroad, including Barcelona, Daejeon, Florence, Kyoto, Leipzig, Malacca, Melbourne, Nagoya, Paris, St Petersburg and Vienna.

The expo is hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Construction, State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese National Committee for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Mayors of the cities attending are to present a declaration on the protection of world historical and cultural cities, said Xu Ning, spokesperson for the Nanjing municipal government.

For the occasion they will wear traditional Chinese style clothes made of Yunjin brocade. Made by hand in Nanjing, the brocade was used to make the robes of emperors from the 13th century until the downfall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

Photography, relic and art exhibits will be featured during the event. Musical performances will be presented by Chinese folk music orchestras, the "Sound of Music" orchestra of Salzburg, Austria, the Russian National Ballet Troupe orchestra and the Leipzig Jazz Orchestra, said Xu.

(China Daily April 6, 2004)