Nearly a thousand Chinese books on art, culture, history, and children’s stories have been gifted by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to the newly-opened Mohammed bin Rashid Library, early this month.
This was announced during an event organized by the consulate at the library attended by the library’s Executive Director Dr. Mohammed Salem Al Mazrouei, China’s Consul General in Dubai Li Xuhang, and many members of the Chinese community residing in the UAE.
Emphasizing on the role of culture in strengthening their deep-rooted ties, the Chinese Consulate highlighted the historical relations between Beijing and the Arab countries, most particularly the UAE. The consulate also spoke about the significance China places on building bridges of knowledge, understanding, and cultural exchange with Arab countries as well as introducing modern Chinese developments.
Dr. Al Mazrouei lauded the good relations between the UAE and China and stated that the modern library, a major source of knowledge in the region, plans to diversify sources to include other countries.
During the handover ceremony themed ‘Enjoying Reading, Sharing Books, Promoting Friendship’, Consul General Li stated that the cultural celebration was intended to introduce Arab citizens to China’s culture and traditions. The diplomat along with Dr. Al Mazrouei announced the establishment of a Chinese Book Corner and a Chinese Reading Day to be celebrated every year on August 8. “During my first visit to this beautiful library, a brilliant idea of putting up a Chinese Book Corner and setting a Chinese Reading Day was initiated. It only took a couple of days to turn this into a reality, something amazing, that can only happen in Dubai,” says Li.
In a statement to UAE’s official news agency WAM, the Chinese diplomat also revealed future plans to organize many colourful and interesting cultural exchange activities in partnership with the library to promote cross-cultural communication, people-to-people understanding, and friendship between China and the UAE.
The cultural exchange events will be a window to China’s unique art and culture including music, Chinese folklore and costumes, printed fabric and paper gifts, as well as workshops on rice paper painting by expert Li Dongshi, international head of the Chinese Calligraphers’ Association.
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