Greeks introduced to Chinese writing, culture at Athens museum

"It was a great experience. It is the first time I am trying out something like this. It was very difficult trying to control the ink. It was exciting hearing about the symbolisms and the meanings behind the characters and ideograms," Diamantis told Xinhua.

"It was marvelous. We discovered another mentality. We realized how other people are seeing the world. It was very interesting," Kalogeropoulou said.

Loukia Konstantinou, a visual artist, was also among the participants in Saturday's event. Later in March she will assume the role of the "teacher" introducing in a similar workshop Greeks to Chinese painting.

"It was excellent. It was a unique experience as people were introduced to Chinese philosophy through the characters," she commented.

Herakleidon Museum, a privately-funded and non-profit organization, which has been bringing art, education, and culture to the Greek public since 2004, has organized a long series of similar events to introduce Greeks to Chinese culture this spring, according to Maria Romaniou, the museum's head of educational programs.

The activities are held as Herakleidon museum hosts from Sept 23, 2017 running to April 29, 2018 an exhibition of ancient Chinese science and technology.

The exhibition "Ancient Chinese Science and Technology" is for the first time hosted in Greece as part of the Greece-China 2017 Year of Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation in Creative Industries.