(The Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Vilnius, January 20, 2017)

Hon. Ms. Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, Minister of Culture,

Mr. Romualdas Budrys, Director of Lithuanian Art Museum,

Excellencies and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen;

 

Good afternoon! It is a great honor and pleasure for me to be here together with you to witness the grand opening of "The Silk Road, Ancient Chinese Art" Exhibition. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to extend my sincere congratulations to Art Exhibitions China and the Museum of Applied Arts and Design for staging this Exhibition, and to express my deep appreciation for your great efforts to make this event possible and to promote cultural exchanges between China and Lithuania. I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian Art Museum for your great support.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen: The ancient Silk Road of 2000 years ago was not only a road for trading between the East and the West, but also a road for friendship, and for mutual learning among different civilizations. Three years ago, China put forward "the Belt and Road" initiative, which has wakened up the vigor of the ancient Silk Road. This "Belt and Road" initiative, which is the inheritance and development of the ancient land and maritime Silk Road, covers five areas, policy coordination, road connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond.

 

"Amity of the people holds the key to country-to-country relations". The past 25 years since the establishment of China-Lithuania diplomatic relations have witnessed frequent people-to-people and cultural exchanges between our two countries. Over the past few years, besides frequent exchange of visits of official cultural delegation between our two countries, a series of cultural events such as Baltic Arts Festival in China and Chinese Cultural Festival in Baltic States have been successfully held, which have promoted mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples. I hope that, at this background, the cultural institutions as well as the relevant government departments of China and Lithuania will provide more platforms to present our rich, splendid and profound cultures to the peoples of our two countries, and to expand cultural exchanges and cooperation, so as to make greater contributions to the development of diversified word civilization.

 

The exhibited artifacts and relics of this Exhibition mainly come from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is an integral part of the Silk Road as it pioneered the cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and from Henan Province, which lies on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and is the cradle of the Chinese culture. This Exhibition, besides the preface and the conclusion, has two major parts. Part I is Chinese Style on Silk Road, including Crisscross Annexation and Early Exchanges, Unified China of Han Dynasty and the Silk Road Thoroughfare and Precious Remains in Prairie. Part II is Blend of World Culture, including Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty, Caravan Intercourse, Circulation Around the World and Shinning Light of Buddhism.

 

This Exhibition, which is the first Ancient Chinese Art Exhibition held in Lithuania, is not only to show the artifacts from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Henan Province, but also to demonstrate how the ancient Silk Road influenced the cultural exchanges of the East and the West. I hope that it will attract as many Lithuanian people as possible, and leave some deep impression on them.

 

In conclusion, I wish, once again, to express my appreciation and thanks to the Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Art Exhibitions China and all those who have made great efforts to make this event possible, and I wish this Exhibition a complete success. Thank you!