On the night of October 29th at 7 o'clock, Yusuf Wali, Egyptian Vice-Premier and Chairperson of the Egypt-China Friendship Association, who just cut the ribbon for the Week of Chinese Culture at Cairo's National Opera House the previous day, and Sun Jiazheng, Chinese Minister of Culture, came in high spirits to the compound of the Cultural Center of China located at a place about 10 kilometers to the west of downtown area of Cairo, and only 5 kilometers in distance from the world-known Khufu Pyramid. They came to cut the ribbon for the just completed Chinese Cultural Center of China. Samir Sarhan, First State-Affairs Secretary of Egyptian Ministry of Culture and Director of General Books Bureau, and others attended the opening ceremony.

Covering an area of 2,000 square meters with an usable floor area of 3,200 square meters, the Cultural Center of China in Cairo is the first overseas large-scale cultural center of China as well as the first one set up overseas in the new century. In 1988 China opened the Cultural Center of China in Benin and Mauritius. Owing to geographical limitation, they failed to spread favorable influences despite good results they achieved. The Cultural Center of China in Egypt is the first one of the four centers to be opened in Egypt, Malta, Paris and Seoul in this year and the next. It therefore has the significance of epoch-making as well as a milestone. Apart from the above, a plan to open cultural centers in Germany, the Great Britain and Russia has been put on agenda.

The Cultural Center of China in Cairo, the first of its kind overseas in the new century, boasts its extensive scope and modern facilities. It is a five-story building with a basement, containing an audio-visual language lab, multi-functional projection halls, reading rooms, advanced computerized offices, and three multifunctional classrooms, two large and one small, used for teaching, lecturing or holding symposia.

On the inauguration day of the Cultural Center of China, Sun Jiazheng and Wali watched together the special-topic exhibition entitled Chinese Characters -- from Ancient Script on Bones or Tortoise shells to Computer at the Cultural Center. The exhibition, using show boards, material objects and cartoons in FLASH, reveals vividly the scientific evolution of Chinese characters from the ancient times to the present age and its status quo. The show, sponsored by the International Liaison Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, is the first of a series of exhibitions to be held touring the world. Vice Premier Wali highly appraised the exhibition. He also watched together with Sun Jiazheng a special-topic film called China, a Divine Land, which was shot under the auspices of the International Liaison Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

By means of available facilities, vivid and easily accessible Chinese character show, and special-topic film show reflecting contemporary Chinese physiognomy, the Center has won favorable comments from the first day of its opening to the public. Some youngsters lingered there reluctant to leave, eager to know the opening time the next day.

As is informed by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the overseas Cultural Center of China aims to boost mutual objective understanding between one country with another country, and one nation with another nation. Compared with diplomatic institutions, the Cultural Center has a less restrained environment in which cultural exchange and propagation activities can be administrated more flexibly in a mode more acceptable to local residents. With these activities China can be more directly and objectively understood by the people all over the world. Now the Center plans to further spread Chinese culture and publicize the latest development in China in a wider range using various means such as Chinese language teaching, audio-video products and books about Chinese dancing, coaching of martial arts, teaching of traditional Chinese medicine, etc provided for borrowing, seminars, public lectures, exhibitions and performances. Director of the International Liaison Bureau Ding Wei told the journalists in Cairo that the overseas Cultural Center of China is a shining spot in the development of China's international relations. It is a window as well as a bridge that helps to promote connections between China and the world and give publicity to Chinese culture.

By Zhang Xiaolan

(ChinaCultural News)

Oct. 31st, 2002