Diplomats, officials attend Confucius Institute's Open Day in Beijing

The second Confucius Institute Headquarters Open Day was held on Friday in the Beijing headquarter of Confucius Institutes, themed "Cultural Exchanges and World Peace".

The event was attended by 500 guests, including diplomats from 38 countries, representatives of Instituto Cervantes, Russian Cultural Center and Mandarin learners.

The opening ceremony featured dulcimer performance, cello quartet, poetry recitation, etc.

"This great culture of China has played a key role, in enabling the Chinese people to emerge into the modern world, dignified, proud and united, looking to an ever brighter future," said John Paul Kavanagh, Ireland's Ambassador to China, in a speech delivered on the opening ceremony.

"Cultural exchange ought to make us more tolerant, and in this, it helps us both to avoid and overcome conflict, and to build peace, and reconciliation. This is why Hanban is a builder of peace. It is why we, Hanban's friends and partners, too are engaged in building peach together," he said.

Shi Jianjun, president of the University of International Business and Economics, said that Hanban serves not only as a language-teaching institute, but also as a bridge for academic, technological and cultural exchanges between universities home and abroad.

The opening ceremony was followed by a series of activities including cultural forum, lectures, opera performance and Traditional Chinese Medicine experience activities.

The first Confucius Institute Headquarters Open Day was held on Sept 27, 2014, as a part of the celebration event for the 10-year anniversary of Confucius Institutes. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang both sent congratulatory letters to the event.

So far, there are 495 Confucius Institutes and 1,000 Confucius Classes in 134 countries across the globe.

Contact the writer at chengyingqi@chinadaily.com.cn