China's culture celebrated in Brussels

BEIJING, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily

The opening ceremony of "An Encounter with Chinese Culture: Jiangsu Week of the Grand Canal Culture" took place on Tuesday in Brussels, an event of China's Jiangsu province that has received a warm welcome from both local residents and cultural experts.

As part of a series of events to celebrate the year 2025 as the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, the event is co-hosted by the Mission of China to the EU, the Information Office of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, and the Jiangsu International Culture Association.

During the opening ceremony, He Liping, a sand artist, displayed to the audience how she drew a sand picture about eight meters in length at the site. On the left, Belgium is depicted with Bruges' fairy tale charm, with red kestrels, blooming poppies, Smurfs at the Atomium, Tintin in the Grand Place, and EU landmarks. On the right, the canal culture features the cities of Changzhou and Wuxi, Jiangsu province, with giant pandas and cherry blossoms surrounding ancient bridges.

Cao Weiping, a tea snack artist from Changzhou, was present at the opening ceremony and the subsequent events, teaching audiences about the methods of making such snacks.

"Tea snacks date to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when drinking tea was so popular among both intellectuals and ordinary people that snacks for them naturally appeared. So it's fair to say that our tea snacks have a history of over 1,400 years, made of daily food and carved delicately in the shapes of different fruits in different seasons," she said.

A Spanish violinist, Marina Martin, toured the Millennia-old Canal, Charm of Jiangsu exhibition and was interested in the exhibit of Chinese instruments, including the erhu, a traditional musical instrument.

"I loved the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto when I first listened to it," she said, recalling previous visits to China. "I think music transcends borders, and events like this really help different peoples appreciate each other's culture."

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