BEIJING: On a windy night in late February, diplomatic envoys from different countries were reluctant to leave after spending three hours at the China National Opera House in Beijing watching a choreographed portrayal of the ancient Chinese landscape painting A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers.
Many of them extended invitations to the show’s directors, hoping that people in their own countries could also appreciate this breathtaking performance, which made the audience feel as if they were part of the painting.
Nico Schiettekatte, from the embassy of the Netherlands in China, said the dance drama provided him with a different way to look at other paintings about nature and landscapes, including those by famous Dutch artists such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt.
“I think we share a lot in common. We all have a history related with nature, but our experience of nature is different in a cultural way,” Schiettekatte said, emphasizing the importance of exchanges among different cultures.
Respect for the diversity of civilizations is one of the four aspects of the Global Civilization Initiative, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping on March 15, 2023.
Speaking at the time to leaders of political parties from around the world, Xi said China is ready to work together with the international community to open up new prospects for enhanced exchanges and understanding among different peoples, and better interactions and integration of diversified cultures. “Together we can make the garden of world civilizations colorful and vibrant,” Xi said.
Over the past year, China has shown the rest of the world its sincerity, with practical actions to implement the Global Civilization Initiative and to promote exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations.
Yang Mingjie, president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the initiative is a strategic vision gaining increasing recognition from the international community because it addresses current problems caused by conflicts or confrontations between different civilizations.
“It calls on countries to transcend estrangement and clashes through cultural exchanges and mutual learning,” Yang said.
He added that since the initiative was proposed, China has made all-around efforts to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
For example, during the Chengdu Summer Universiade last year, more than 6,500 young athletes from 113 countries and regions got the chance to experience in person the unique charm of Chinese civilization as well as that of Sichuan culture, by visiting the giant panda base, tasting hotpot and taking part in intangible cultural heritage activities such as playing with shadow puppets.
Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, South Africa’s ambassador to China, said he was glad that dancers from an art troupe in Cape Town visited China last year and displayed the charm of South African arts to a Chinese audience. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
