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A promotion event for Chinese culture, the Chinese Cultural Tour in Northern Europe, had its grand opening ceremony in the world-renowned Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 20.
The ceremony raised the curtain on a nine-day cultural gala. About 300 scholars and professionals in Esperanto circles from over 50 countries attended the ceremony.
Held by China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and the Universal Esperanto Association (UEA), the event took advantage of the golden opportunity of the 98th World Congress of Esperanto (in Esperanto: Universala Kongreso de Esperanto) in Reykjavik.
With this platform, a series of activities were organized to promote Chinese culture, including two photo exhibitions – "Shandong, China: the Homeland of Confucius" and "Glamorous Suzhou: Oriental Venice" – “China Day” at the World Congress of Esperanto in Reykjavik, and a cultural exhibition of books, which is part of the China Festival in Sweden in Stockholm.
Guo Xiaoyong, first deputy chairman of the All-China Esperanto League, said that the tour aimed to open a window for the world to understand Chinese culture and provide a platform for cultural exchanges.
He added that beautiful photos and live folk art shows from Shandong province and the city of Suzhou will be shown to impress scholars and audiences.
The director of the UEA said that the event was not only a good chance to learn more about Chinese culture and art, but can also attract more people to learn Esperanto.
In the ceremony, the Statue of Confucius was presented as a gift to the Cultural Exchange Association between Iceland and China by the information office of the Shandong Provincial People’s Government.
During the nine-day tour, various special activities were held for “China Day”. Chinese literature in Esperanto translated by the All-China Esperanto League and China’s first Esperanto museum in Shandong will be introduced. Lectures on cultural comparison between Chinese and Western countries will be given by Ragnar Baldursson, Esperanto scholar and minister-counselor of the Iceland Embassy to China. A Friendship Award will be conferred to Humphrey Tonkin, former vice-president of the UEA, for his excellent contributions to the development of Esperanto in China.
