Tea as a Bridge, Painting as a Medium, "Charm of Jiangsu" Invites European Tourists to Experience the Oriental Beauty

Recently, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism went to France and Italy to carry out a series of events to promote culture and tourism, using tea as a bridge, culture as a medium, and tourism as the theme to comprehensively showcase Jiangsu's development achievements and innovations in culture and tourism, and actively expand the cooperation channels and space for accelerated recovery of inbound tourism market.

Overflowing Tea Fragrance to Present Cultural Charm

Organized by the Centre Culturel de Chine à Paris， the "Tea and the World – Suzhou Charm Collection" promotion event was held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, which was divided into "Tea - Origin", "Tea - Charm", "Tea - Feast", "Tea - Ritual", "Tea - Meeting", "Tea - Journey". A number of intangible cultural heritages with distinctive Jiangsu characteristics were selected, and blended with classical garden elements such as white walls and dark blue tiles， moon gates, lattice windows, etc., to create an aesthetic space featuring intangible cultural heritage and modern life for appreciation and visiting.

At the event site, the guests were able to enjoy the fragrance of tea, the refinement of tea sets, and the artistry of tea making, and listen to the classical repertoire such as " Purple Bamboo Melody", "Beauty of Taihu Lake" and "Jasmine Flower", while sipping tea. The wonderful music and beautiful instruments aroused great interest and enthusiastic response from the guests.

Using Painting as a Medium, Looking Forward to a Promising Future

Painting is a universal language and an important means of inter-civilization exchanges and mutual understanding. During the European tour, the "Dialog between Jiangsu and the World" Sino-French International Children's Painting Exhibition and Award Ceremony were held at the Les Temps Du Corps.

The theme of the exhibition was "Natural Marine Environment: Protecting Wildlife Habitats and Birds' Paradise". Since the solicitation for works, young Chinese and French people have actively participated in the exhibition and presented to the international community many beautiful and creative pictures featuring "Charm of Jiangsu" which is in harmony with nature, and expressing the common hope of the young people from the two countries for green development.

Official Opening of the "Charm of Jiangsu" Global Communication Center Paris Base

Cultural and Tourism Exchanges, Yearning for Life in Jiangsu

The fragrance of oriental tea spreads far and wide. The "Charm of Jiangsu" Tourism Promotion Conference held in Milan, Italy, also took "tea and life" as the theme, and invited the inheritors of Suzhou Dongting Biluochun-making techniques to stir-dry Biluochun tea on the spot, bringing the guests an immersive experience of the unique charm in Jiangsu's intangible cultural heritage.

At the Conference, the promotion delegates also comprehensively introduced Jiangsu's unique culture and rich tourism resources through presentation, videos and pictures. The refined and elegant life in Jiangsu not only left a deep impression on the guests, but also triggered their yearning for experiencing the "Charm of Jiangsu".

The promotion events in France and Italy attracted full media attention at home and abroad. @Visit Jiangsu account in the three major overseas social media platforms, namely Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, launched coordinated publicity. The Nouvelles d'Europe, the "Travel" magazine and "Milan Weekly" from Italy, the "Dialogue Chine-France" magazine, CCTV News, Xinhua News application, People's Daily Online, etc. have publicized and reported the events, which generated wide influence and attention.