Sichuan promotes culture in Austria

“Cultural China ? Splendid Sichuan,” an overseas cultural promotion campaign by Sichuan, was launched in Salzburg, Australia on June 12 local time, according to the overseas Chinese affairs office of the provincial government.

Sichuan’s Vice Governor Wang Ning, Austria’s former speaker of the federal parliament and Liu Chang, political counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Austria, addressed the occasion attended 70 people representing a cross-section of the local business circle and the overseas Chinese community.

The day’s activities began with a female solo of “Edelweiss,” an interlude song of the film “The Sound of Music,” which was once filmed in Salzburg.

A Chinese zither solo, the tea art involving long-spout teapots and the face-changing performance of the Sichuan Opera, all distinctive cultural forms of Sichuan, were staged during the event.

Besides, meticulously-prepared gourmet food from Sichuan, one of United Nations’ cities of gastronomies, was served on the spot for people to taste.

In recent years, China-Austria ties have developed steadily, with increased bilateral exchanges and cooperation, especially in the fields of trade, agriculture and environmental protection.

Sichuan enjoys a favorable position for economic development, lying at the junction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It also plays an important role in the development of China’s western areas as well as piloting reforms on all-round innovation and free trade.

Room for cooperation between Sichuan and Austria, as the gateway to central Europe and a participant of the Belt and Road development, will be broader.