On May 7th and 8th, at the invitation of the Sparta Municipal Government, the Athens Business Confucius Institute grandly held the "Sparta Chinese Culture Festival" in Sparta. Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzhen, Mayor of Sparta Petros Doukas, and Yan Hongwei, Director of the Athens Business Confucius Institute attended and delivered opening speeches.
Ambassador Xiao Junzheng said in his speech that Sparta has a splendid civilization, and its cultural and historical significance is as famous as Athens. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Greece, and the second year of the China-Greece Culture and Tourism Year. It is hoped that taking this "Sparta City Chinese Culture Festival" as an opportunity, Sparta City and the Chinese side will enhance contact, expand cooperation, share cooperation opportunities so as to enhance mutual understanding between the Chinese and Greek people.
Director Yan Hongwei said that the Athens Business Confucius Institute was honored to be invited to host this Chinese Culture Festival. As the first Confucius Institute in Greece, the Athens Business Confucius Institute actively organizes Chinese cultural promotion activities. It is hoped that the Chinese Culture Festival can sow the seeds of Chinese culture in the hearts of the Spartan people, enhance the friendship between the Chinese and Greek people, and promote cultural exchanges between China and Greece.
In his speech, the mayor of Sparta sincerely thanked the Athens Business Confucius Institute and the Chinese Embassy in Greece for their strong support for this event. Since ancient times, Sparta has advocated democracy, free public education, and equality between men and women, which has similarities with Chinese civilization. Sparta City looks forward to more cooperation with China in various fields.
The "Sparta City Chinese Culture Festival" lasted for two days. On the evening of May 7th, Yang Shaobo, President of the Sino-Greek Cultural Association, and Apostolos Pierris, Scholar and owner of Institute for Philosophical Research, conducted a Chinese philosophy symposium themed "From Homer and Socrates to Confucius". On May 8th, the event featured Tai ji performance from students at the Eagles Claw Kung Fu school, as well as four themed interactive workshops including Chinese painting, Chinese paper-cutting, Chinese calligraphy, Greeting Chinese course, which were deeply loved by the local Spartan people and had a high degree of participation. Many people said that it was their first time to write calligraphy, cut red paper and speak Chinese, which was very novel and interesting.
Sparta has a long history and is world-famous for its "Spartan warriors", strict discipline and simple life. This is the first time that Sparta City has held the Chinese Culture Festival, which is of great significance. This activity has greatly enriched the local people's vision and cultural life, allowing more Greek people to understand Chinese culture, enhance mutual understanding, and promote heart-to-heart. The mayor, officials and people of Sparta all expressed their expectation that the Athens Business Confucius Institute will return to Sparta to hold Chinese language learning and cultural exchange activities again in the future.
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