Chinese cultural exhibition opens in Benin

A Chinese cultural exhibition was unveiled on Saturday in Benin, aiming to improve the Belt and Road Initiative and increase understandings between the two countries, a cultural authority said.

The exhibition, jointly held by the Chinese culture center in Benin and the Ministry of Culture, selected more than 50 Chinese traditional woodcuts with different themes, including celebration of Spring Festival and how Chinese people live a good life, according to a statement of the ministry’s cultural exchange center.

Not only the woodcut, the art works are filled with some other traditional cultures of China, such as painting, folk literatures, traditional operas and folk customs, it said.

“The exhibition, on one hand, is to show our traditions and cultures to Benin residents, helping the Africans understand more about Chinese, while on the other hand, it is a cultural bridge between China and Africa,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, it is the key step to implement the Belt and Road Initiative, forwarded by the central leadership in 2013 and aimed at building a trade, investment and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, it said.

The exhibition, which ends on Feb 26, can also enrich lives of Chinese people working in Benin, it added.