On March 8， the Department of Culture of Chinas Zhejiang Province held a cultural festival for Chinese New Year in Jordans world-famous heritage site Petra.

The department held the event in cooperation with Chinas Ministry of Culture， the Chinese embassy in Jordan and the Petra Tourism Development Authority.

At the event， artists from Zhejiang performed the Chinese flute， sang folk songs， molding clay figures， and performed Chinese puppet dancing. A creative exhibition of traditional crafts， with the theme of silk， porcelain， and tea， was also displayed at the event， revealing a combination of Chinese culture and contemporary industrial designs.

Jin Xingsheng， director of the Department of Culture of Zhejiang Province， introduced several cultural heritages and archaeological sites in Zhejiang. He also reviewed the history of the province and key landmarks in the area， and highlighted the dynamic business activities in the province.

Falah Abdullah al-Omoush， chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Tourism Development Authority， voiced appreciation to China for holding such activities in Petra.

Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang said China is eager to boost ties with Jordan in various areas， and remarked that there is great potential for increased cooperation in tourism between the two countries.

China-U.K. Cultural Experience Center Launched in London

A China-U.K. experience center was launched in London in late February to offer British people access to Chinese culture.

Xiang Xiaowei， minister counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in London， said the new center would serve as a platform to promote cultural exchanges between China and the U.K..

During the recent visit to China by British Prime Minister Theresa May， both Chinese and British leaders agreed to push for an enhanced version of the“Golden Era” of China-U.K. relations. This is conducive to further promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries， Xiang said.

The new center is based in the House of Phoenix in southeast London， founded in May 2012 as the first overseas whollyowned subsidiary of Phoenix Publishing and Media Group in Jiangsu Province， East China.

The center will host cultural exhibitions， performance， lectures， and Chinese language classes. Efforts will be also made to help translate English literature into Chinese and Chinese books into English， said Shen Yingwen， executive director of Phoenix Publishing and Media in London. The center is planning a variety of cultural programs for all ages.

After the launch ceremony， artists and children from China and Britain staged songs and dances to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

China Bookshelf Opens in Istanbul Bookstore

More than 200 titles were put up for sale on the China Bookshelf ， which opened on March 7 in a Nezih bookstore in Istanbul， as part of the efforts to promote cultural exchanges between China and Turkey.

These books， which cover politics， economy， culture， and diet， are mainly published by China Intercontinental Press， which is among the first Chinese publishers to cooperate with Turkey.

Addressing the opening ceremony， Yang Xue， deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of the Chinese press， said the opening of the China Bookshelf in Istanbul is expected to expand the scope of cooperation and deepen bilateral cultural exchanges between China and Turkey.

Ali Babayigit， general coordinator with the Nezih group， also hailed the opening of the China Bookshelf， saying cultural exchanges draw the two countries closer.

Some guests and readers performed paper cutting and Chinese calligraphy under the guidance of the teachers and students from the Confucius Institute at Yeditepe University following the opening ceremony.

Under the “Thats China Bookshelf” program， China Intercontinental Press has so far set up nine such bookshelves in seven countries since 2016， namely Egypt， the United Arab Emirates， Argentina， Germany， Singapore， Chile， and Turkey.