On September 16, the opening ceremony of 2022 "Focus on Zhejiang" International Cultural Exchange Event kicked off in Deqing, Huzhou, with the participation of local officials, foreigners, media representatives and people from the field of international communications. The event aims at introducing Zhejiang's culture and folklore to the world and facilitating more international cooperation in terms of tourism and cultural exchanges. 

The event has been held for three years sconsecutively. It is jointly sponsored by Information Office of Zhejiang Provincial Government and Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. On the same day, organizers of the event have released a wealth of international cultural exchange activities including the "Asian Games International Workshops", and a series of activities are scheduled to last until the end of this year.

The event has also invited the French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, who was nominated 2008 Nobel Prize winner for literature for a virtual speech. Le Clézio visited Hangzhou before, and has co-published the book "The Road to Tang Poetry" with Professor Dong Qiang, a translator from Zhejiang and professor of French literature at Peking University. The book is highly praised by readers in France. He said in the video, "I plan to travel to south of the Yangtze River, along the river, across the lake, and possibly along the Grand Canal...I want to feel the humanism that was born in this area..I want to visit the beauty of the south of the Yangtze River to better understand the power and harmony of poetry there." The old man in his 80s also recited Li Bai's "Southern Maiden" in French, expressing his admiring feelings for "Zhejiang Poetry Road", an initiative of promoting the poetry traditions of Zhejiang to the world.  

Bonino Gabriella, a well-known Italian sinologist who has lived in Zhejiang for a long time, has visited some scenic spots along the poetry cultural belt this year. Yunmen Temple where Wang Xizhi once lived, Hanyan Temple where Hanshan once practiced, and Batou Mountain Village where Lu You's ancestral home locates. "My heart also seems to transcend time and space, echoing with the Chinese poets who are also immersed in the landscape." she said. 

　　Italian sinologist Bonino Gabriella

"Zhejiang traditional culture is full of fun and charm. Every time I participate in the "Focus on Zhejiang" event, I can get  access to different techniques, see different natural environments and approach humanistic feelings.” said Vasilii Moshchelkov from Russia. 

"Focus on Zhejiang" International Cultural Exchange Activity has more content this year. This year, the China Academy of Art will hold activities such as the Liangzhu International Community Art Festival. Besides, the Wuzhen Theater Festival will be held at the end of November, and the University of Nottingham Ningbo will organize foreign teachers and students to visit Chinese rural enterprises. There are other activities such as the Hehe Culture Global Forum and the African Culture Month. 

The 19th Asian Games is about to enter the one-year countdown. This year’s "Focus on Zhejiang" event specially opens a special workshop for foreign friends in Zhejiang with in-depth Zhejiang experiences - "Asian Games International Workshop". Taking the Asian Games as the line, connecting Zhejiang culture and tourism resources, "Focus on Zhejiang" is about to develop cultural experience, consumption experience, urban life experience, food experience, sports venue experience, etc. The workshop will be led by sports stars and foreign Internet celebrities and aims at bringing friends from other countries to feel the achievements of the construction of beautiful homes in Zhejiang and common prosperity.

From September 16th onwards, a brand-new international cultural exchange community, the "Focus on Zhejiang"  International Cultural Exchange platform, has also been officially launched on "The Hour" news application. People from all over the world can upload pictures and texts of activities with one click to share and exchange what they have seen and heard in Zhejiang.

Reporter: Fan Chenyu

Editor: Ye Ke