From thousands of years old relics to burgeoning avant-garde
art, China and European countries are promoting cultural exchanges
to boost mutual understanding.
With Chinese contemporary art gaining more of the spotlight on
the international market, when one of the biggest Chinese
contemporary art collectors, Belgian baron Guy Ullens, opened the
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), it was one of the
landmark events in Chinese contemporary art circles.
The center plans to hold exhibitions of local and international
contemporary art and seminars to provide channels for the world to
understand Chinese contemporary art better, according to the UCCA
Artistic Director Fei Dawei.
Art critic Yang Wei said, "China should not always be showing
the world ancient city walls and the Forbidden City. Contemporary
artists are using a kind of international art language to tell the
world stories in a quickly changing China."
New Beijing Gallery art designer Li Feng said China is now more
open and tolerant of contemporary art and thus many European
avant-garde artists would love to hold exhibitions in China or even
move their workshops here. They could also spur on Chinese
contemporary art.
Besides the burgeoning contemporary art scene,
thousands-of-years-old relics often serve as cultural ambassadors
between China and European countries.
After the British Museum brought 272 pieces of relics for
exhibition to Beijing last March, the Louvre Museum came with 130
pieces of marble statues, potteries and golden ware this August to
showcase the art of ancient Greece.
"It was shocking. I experienced ancient Greek culture without
going abroad. I've seen a totally different culture form," said
27-year-old Beijing citizen Ding Ying, who visited the exhibition
which ended early November.
The British Museum and the Palace Museum signed a letter of
intent this June to promote cooperation on exhibition, research,
relics repair and education.
More than 2,000-years-old terracotta soldiers are also serving
as cultural ambassadors in the British Museum. The museum is
planning to take the unprecedented step of staying open 24 hours a
day to meet the huge demand, according to the Daily Telegraph,
saying the total visitors are expected to exceed 800,000 - more
than twice the figure predicted when the exhibition opened in
September.
The Confucius Institute provides another platform between China
and European countries. Since 2004, China has set up about 170
Confucius Institutes overseas, most in Europe, Asia and America, to
teach Mandarin and promote Chinese culture to those who are curious
about China.
Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) has helped set up 11
Confucius Institutes overseas, including ten in Europe and the
institutes run well after one-year of operation, said Zhong Meisun,
vice president of BFSU, which is one of the organizations
sponsoring many Confucius Institutes.
In addition, many cultural weeks and seminars are also active
between China and European countries to promote mutual
understanding.
(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2007)
