Culture Year in Germany to boost people-to-people exchange

The upcoming Chinese Culture Year in Germany, showcasing culture programs of unprecedented size and quality, will boost mutual understanding and people-to-people exchange between the two countries, Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Hongbo said Thursday. With more than 500 programs in over 30 German cities, the Culture Year will present Chinese music, theater, literature and films for the German people, stepping up their understanding on China and offering new impetus to China-German strategic cooperative partnership, Wu said at a press conference on the one-year-long cultural feast. Chinese Culture Year is to be launched in Berlin on Jan. 30 with a concert in which Yu Long, a renowned Chinese conductor, will lead the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Other highlights of the event include the renowned Schleswig-Holstein International Music Festival on which China will be the Guest of Honor, classical Kunqu opera performances, as well as cultural dialogues, forums and seminars. The Culture Year aims to enhance bilateral relations and improve friendship and cooperation between over 60 pairs of sister states (provinces) and sister cities on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China-Germany diplomatic relations, the ambassador said. It also offers a platform for direct communication and cooperation between cultural organizations and artists of the two countries, Wu said, adding that enhanced communication between the two peoples will go a long way towards addressing misunderstanding and prejudices caused by insufficient knowledge on each other. Enditem