ISLAMABAD, May 2 (INP) - China Cultural Center here in recent  month (April-2020) marked its fifth anniversary through Online celebrations. In order to fight the epidemic and convey confidence and determination to overcome Covid-19, the Center launched online celebrations on Facebook. According to report carried by Gwadar Pro, the celebrations include visiting five online photo exhibitions, namely, "Our Silk Road", "World Cultural Heritage in China", "The Ancient Silk Road State of Kucha", "Beautiful China", "Celebrating in Harmony and Joy – Chinese Spring Festival Photo Exhibition" and three documentary series. 5 years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Pakistani former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, jointly unveiled China Cultural Center in Pakistan at the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad during his state visit to Pakistan. China Cultural Center in Pakistan officially launched and began its operation ever since. The establishment of the China Cultural Center in Pakistan is an important symbol of the further deepening of bilateral relations between China and Pakistan. The Center’s objective is to strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Pakistan and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Since its establishment in Pakistan, China Cultural Center has actively organized various types of cultural activities i.e., cultural performances, visual arts exhibitions, film festivals, film shows, teaching, training, lectures, seminars and other different cultural activities. China Cultural Center in Pakistan has organized 26 grand exhibitions before such as "China-Pakistan Friendship Photo Exhibition", "Beautiful China Photo Exhibition", "Belt and Road in My Eyes, A Pakistani Students’ Poster Competition", attracting more than 20,000 visitors. To celebrate Chinese New Year, more than 30 grand cultural performances such as the “70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China”, “65th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between China and Pakistan”, and "Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival" gala were given to more than 100,000 audience. Training workshops such as Chinese Martial Arts, Chinese Culinary Art, and Chinese Paper Cutting attracted more than 3,000 people. China Cultural Center has participated in the eighth and ninth Pakistan National Book Festival in Islamabad and displayed Chinese cultural elements by setting up booth, attracting Pakistani people from different walks of life. President Dr. Arif Alvi also visited China Cultural Center’s booth and highly praised the friendship between China and Pakistan. These two National Book Festivals attracted more than 500,000 visitors. With collaboration of different universities and educational institutions, China Cultural Center also organized a series of "Happy Chinese New Year" activities, gave lectures on "Traditional Chinese Medicine", "Belt and Road" and "Chinese-Western Art Exchange” and other relevant topics to effectively provide interactional exchange between students and teachers of universities. The "China Film Festival and Film Conference" held in August 2019 opened a new chapter in the exchange and cooperation between film industry of China and Pakistan.

INP/JAVED