CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, April 27, 2021 | 11 WORLD
TIES THAT BIND Cultural connections gain fresh life With touring exhibitions, museums play role in deepening mutual understanding
Editor’s note: Peopletopeople “I’m looking forward to how it will exchanges are deepening the spotlight the many existing cultural connections between countries and artistic exchanges between our participating in the Belt and Road home region and China,” he says. Initiative. This column celebrates Xu He, the project leader of the the efforts of those working toward International Liaison Office of Art a shared future. Exhibitions China, says that in the years before the pandemic forced the By CHEN YINGQUN closure of borders, the organization [email protected] had brought an increasing number of art exhibits to audiences in coun When Maryam Mohsin Hassan tries involved in the BRI. In 2014, the Abdalla visited Gansu Provincial exhibition Treasures of China was Museum in 2016, she was impressed held in Tanzania and, in the follow by its exotic charm and mixture of ing year, the center curated exhibi Eastern and Western cultures. tions on China’s general history in The 23yearold Sudanese, from Latvia, Lithuania and Cyprus. Khartoum, recalls she was enchanted In 2016, the Treasures of China by a series of exhibitions at the muse exhibition was taken to the Museum um in Lanzhou, in China’s Northwest. of Islamic Art in Qatar, bringing Chi These included the Silk Road Exhibi na’s Terracotta Warriors to people in tion and the Buddhist Art of Gansu. the Gulf state for the first time. Over Also catching her eye was the famous 70,000 visitors flocked to the exhibi bronze sculpture Galloping Horse tion in three months, and children Treading on a Flying Swallow. created clay sculptures based on the “Gansu struck me as a special warriors in workshops after seeing place where Chinese culture inter the exhibition. acted with the Western culture,” she Xu says that, in planning for exhi says of the province’s location on the bitions in BRI countries, it is essen ancient Silk Road. “Its cultural relics tial that curators bring over cultural also demonstrated a diversity of cul relics with elements that local audi tures, including Muslim culture and ences will be familiar with, or con Arabic cultures. I was also impressed nect with in some other way. In this by the magnificence of the Mogao spirit, she chose some plates with Grottoes of Dunhuang, which helped Arabic characters for the exhibition me learn more about Buddhism.” in Qatar. For Southeast Asia, it was Abdalla is far from alone in valu the ornamentation art from Bei ing the learning experience to be jing’s Summer Palace that people gained from museums. could relate to, as they understand President Xi Jinping, in an address more about Chinese culture. to the 20th meeting of the Council of Art lovers admire a Venus statue in the Louvre Abu Dhabi in December 2017. The artwork exemplifies the UAE’s position at the crossroads “At present, the exhibitions we Heads of State of the Shanghai Coop of East and West. KAMRAN JEBREILI / ASSOCIATED PRESS have held in the BRI countries are eration Organization, called for the mostly focusing on China’s iconic world to nourish peopletopeople cultural exhibits and about general amity and build a community of cul history to help the local audience tural exchanges for us all. gain a basic understanding of Chi “Each civilization is distinct and nese culture,” Xu says. “We would none is superior to others. We need like to make more exhibitions that to promote mutual learning between can deepen their understanding.” our civilizations and enhance good Xu says that Chinese audiences, in neighborliness and friendship turn, have been increasingly interest between our countries,” he said via ed in cultural relics and art from other video in November last year. BRI countries. For instance, the Museums of countries involved in Splendor of Asia — An Exhibition of the Chinaproposed Belt and Road Asian Civilizations in 2019 in Bei Initiative, or BRI, have increased the jing, showcasing 451 items of cultural frequency of exhibitions on the cul relics from all 47 countries in Asia, tural relics of other participating including China, as well as the ancient nations since the initiative was civilizations of Greece and Egypt, unveiled in 2013, museum insiders proved a hit with Chinese audiences. say. In doing, so they have strength In a similar vein, cultural relics ened peopletopeople exchanges from Afghanistan that were put on and mutual understanding. tour in China for two years from 2017 The BRI focuses on promoting poli made an impact. When they were cy coordination, connectivity of infra exhibited in the Forbidden City, more structure and facilities, unimpeded than 8,000 visitors came each day. trade, financial integration, and clos Tourists in Lanzhou, Gansu province, take in a copy of a mural from the Visitors enjoy the cultural relics at the Gansu Provincial Museum in “We have a splendid plan of curat er peopletopeople ties through Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in May 2020. GAO ZHAN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE May last year. GAO ZHAN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE ing a series of exhibitions of cultural extensive consultation, joint contri relics and artworks that Chinese audi butions, and shared gains, with the ence are not quite familiar with from goal of bringing benefits to all. BRI countries, including Pakistan, Manuel Rabate, director of Louvre Iran, and Iraq,” says Xu, adding that Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emir the first exhibition from Syria will ates, says the museum has a number kick off a twoyear tour from June, of important Chinese works in its col starting from Shenzhen in the south. lection, including the Winged Drag Xu says that while the COVID19 on, a sculpture from the Chinese pandemic has halted crossborder Warring States Period (475221 BC). exhibitions over the past year, other “Our dragon is actually a hybrid factors have in the past brought made up of various animals, with their own difficulties, such as trans the hindquarters of a feline, the portation, financing, and exhibits’ forequarters of an alligator, the ant vulnerabilities. “I think that in the lers of a stag and the wings of a bird,” postpandemic era, there will be he says. “It is also one of the largest more cultural relics exhibitions from freestanding sculptures of a dragon BRI countries in China, as Chinese known to date in Chinese art. It is audiences’ demand for such exhibi extremely popular with our audien tions is getting stronger,” she says. ces and we often see visitors taking In 2016, more than 30 museums selfies with it.” from countries participating in the Rabate says that cultural The sculpture Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow on display Du Yongwei, an expert in traditional art, paints a clay sculpture in BRI formed an alliance under which exchange is a critical factor in the at the Gansu Provincial Museum in June. YANG YANMIN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE his studio in April last year. DU ZHEYU / XINHUA they signed agreements on the pro success of humanity and it is Louvre tection and exchange of cultural rel Abu Dhabi’s main mission to tell sto ics, along with efforts to promote ries of cultural connections. mutual learning among civiliza He says the museum benefits from How relics escape the past and help shape shared future tions and cultural coexistence. the UAE’s unique position at the Han Bing, the chief researcher of crossroads of East and West and that culture and entertainment practice the country maintains strong histor When selecting cultural relics from Xu organized the Treasures of Chi (13681644) and drew many Arabian Shaanxi province for the exhibition. of global consultancy Roland Ber ical and contemporary links with Chinese museums for an exhibition in na, an exhibition that showcased Chi merchants. The Saudis, bearing out The plate showed the province had ger, says cultural exchanges help China. This contributes to a strong Saudi Arabia, Xu He recalls paying nese civilization at the National Xu’s belief that it’s connections that exchanges with the Arabian region in people in BRI countries to under relationship with China, he says. particular attention to items that Museum in the Saudi capital Riyadh matter, were fascinated by that slice ancient times. stand each other. “We share a known history of would engender a connection with in 2018. On show were 264 items of a shared cultural link. Han Bing, the chief researcher of “Museums are important carriers mutual trade and commerce dating people. provided by 13 museums and cultur “Saudi Arabians don’t know much culture and entertainment practice of of culture and history, and every back over a thousand years and Xu, the project leader of the Inter al institutions, such as the Palace about other Chinese cities, but global consultancy Roland Berger, exhibit tells a story,” she says. “Cultur indeed several of the displays in our national Liaison Office of Art Exhibi Museum. Some 173 of the items Quanzhou is relatively better known says that when administrators plan al relics selected for exhibition should permanent galleries look at cultural tions China, says this kind of tailored were Chinese cultural relics, includ to them,” she says. “So we chose exhibitions in other countries, they represent a country’s unique culture and artistic exchanges along the Silk approach is essential when it comes ing the worldrenowned Terracotta tombstones from Quanzhou.” must think about what kind of story and history and the values of open Road, for example,” Rabate says. to curating exhibitions of relics for Warriors. Of particular relevance is that the to tell and how to tell it better. Then ness and inclusiveness of the BRI.” He says Chinese visitors have viewers outside China. It’s vital “to Nearly half the items had never exhibition included one tombstone it’s a matter of deciding on the She says the staging of cultural always been very important and the bring over exhibits with elements that before left China. The exhibition of with Arabic words on the front and themes and choosing the exhibits exhibitions can also help BRI museum has a Mandarinspeaking a targeted audience is familiar with to cultural relics was one of the largest Chinese characters on the back. It accordingly. nations exchange experiences on guide on the staff. Before the pandem help them quickly build a bond” with that China has staged in the kingdom. told the story of how an Arabian mer She says the Belt and Road Initia the operation and management of ic, China was the top source of the Chinese culture, she says. More than 50,000 Saudis flocked to chant became an official in China and tive carries historical significance and museums, taking in business mod museum’s visitors, with Chinese mak “People in the Middle East are quite the threemonth show. then moved his entire family from the the values of openness and inclusive els, fundraising and management ing up 9.4 percent of them in 2019. curious about the exotic charm of Xu says that relics from the city of Middle East to Quanzhou in ancient ness. Exhibitions that are taken to systems. Such shared knowledge Rabate says the museum’s next Chinese culture, but they may soon Quanzhou in Fujian province proved times. other countries should also demon can improve the management effi international exhibition will look at forget what they have seen in the especially popular with the visitors. As Saudi Arabia is along the Mari strate these values. ciency of these museums. eight centuries of artistic and cul exhibition if they don’t feel connected The city had served as an impor time Silk Road, Xu brought an iron tural exchanges between China and while appreciating them,” she says. tant port in China’s Ming Dynasty plate with Arabian numerals from CHEN YINGQUN Yang Ran and Wang Kaihao the Islamic world. contributed to this story.