Italian artists perform a ballet -A Midsummer Night's Dream - during the Year of Italy in China.

Against a backdrop of red, the traditional favorite of the Chinese, Michelangelo's David and a terracotta soldier of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) exchange greetings.

While David says "nihao", the ancient Chinese soldier responds with "Ciao." This is a themed picture designed for the Year of Italy in China, 2006.

As the picture implies, exchanges between the two countries can be traced back to centuries ago.

The travels of Marco Polo in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the legend of Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) - who lived in China for nearly 30 years and dedicated himself to promoting exchanges between Western and oriental civilizations - and the paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione, who lived in China for more than half a century during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), are all evidence of ancient cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Along with a renewing of the traditional bonds of friendship, the year 2006 witnessed an all-around and intense display of ancient and modern Italian culture in China.

According to Maria Weber, director of the Italian Embassy Cultural Office, more than 200 cultural events depicting the charms of Italian history and society were organized for the viewing pleasure of the Chinese. The activities ranged from music, dance, theatre and cinema, to art exhibitions and conferences.

The Italian extravaganza was spread over 18 Chinese cities, which included not only metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, but Chengdu, Jinan, Dalian, Xi'an and Hangzhou as well.

More than 1.6 million people took part in the cultural events. The exhibition of machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci, showing how contemporary Italian technology is the outgrowth of secular experience, alone attracted more than 300,000 visitors.

Following the great success of the Year of Italy, the Italian Embassy in China will launch a series of cultural promotional activities this year, including photography exhibitions and the display of an ancient book collection from a Milanese library, said Weber.

While promising Italian band Trio Malipiero will perform in China at the end of June, renowned photographer Olivo Barbieri will hold lecturers in Beijing in mid-October at the invitation of the curator of the National Art Museum of China, Fan Di'an.

Next year will witness the kickoff of an exhibition - "Qin & Han China and Roman as parallel in the east and west" in Beijing. The event will be organized by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Activities.

Meanwhile, Chinese culture has, in turn, captured the imagination of Italy.

Weber said that a show on ancient Chinese civilization held in Rome not long ago - "Dawn of an Empire: from Qin to Han" was a great success. More Italians are now talking about China and are fascinated by China's cultural riches.

A growing number of Italian cities are entering into cultural exchange agreements with their Chinese counterparts and extending financial support for the promotion of Chinese culture.

For instance, the Rome municipal government plans to launch a series of Chinese cultural promotional activities in 2008, such as setting up a special Chinese movies section at the Rome International Film Festival and holding Chinese art and film exhibitions.

Educational cooperation

As Italian cultural fever sweeps over China, Italy is becoming an increasingly popular destination for overseas study among Chinese students.

The number of Chinese students studying in Italy has doubled in the space of one year, reaching 2,000 so far this year, the Italian Embassy said.

However, this is only a small fraction of the thousands of Chinese students who go abroad to study every year.

The Chinese and Italian governments are currently strengthening educational cooperation as a strategic priority, seeking to increase Chinese presence in Italian universities.

As one of the most industrialized countries in the world, Italy is especially famous for its brilliant designs in the fields of architecture, fashion and industry

While Italian designers are inspired and nourished by their rich national cultural heritage, the pursuit of innovation is a major characteristic of the development of modern art in the Mediterranean country.

"The development of contemporary Italian art is a process of pursuing innovation," Weber said.

New technologies spark the imagination of Italian artists and create the need for innovation in design, she added.

"Our artists have found their own way in designing - perfectly combining elegant Italian style with consistent innovative spirit and highlighting Italian aesthetic standards," Weber explained.

A friendly atmosphere that blends tradition and modernity, a centuries-old civilization manifested in its art, music and literary traditions, together with impressive scenery, fine food and wine make Italy not only a major tourist destination but also an ideal place of study for overseas students.

Comparatively lower living costs, as well as tuition and school fees are other factors that appeal to foreign students.

The Italian government provides study and research incentives in various fields, with scholarships made available each year through the China Scholarship Council.

Italian universities also offer scholarships and housing subsidies to non-EU citizens.

According to bilateral agreements between Italy and China, higher education degrees obtained in either of the two countries are mutually recognized, which helps facilitate educational collaboration.

Colleges and universities are playing an active role in advancing educational and cultural exchange between the two countries.

More than 30 Italian universities and dozens of Chinese institutes of higher education have so far participated in educational and scientific cooperation projects, covering the exchange of scholars and students, and research and seminars.

In accordance with a protocol signed last February between the education ministers of both countries, the Shanghai-based universities of Tongji and Fudan, in cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Milan, the Polytechnic Institute of Turin, and the universities of Bocconi and Luiss, have set up joint campuses for Chinese and Italian students to study engineering and business management.

Heritage preservation

Both China and Italy have long histories and are blessed with rich historical and cultural heritage. Thus, preserving the fruits of their ancient civilizations is a common challenge faced by the two nations.

With its technical and scientific expertise in this field, Italy has an edge in the restoration, maintenance and preservation of historical and cultural heritage.

Since the first visit of an Italian archaeological delegation to China in 1988, a number of centers for the conservation and restoration of cultural properties have been set up in the past two decades.

To further enhance cooperation in this sector, a special organization -Sino-Italian Cooperation Training Center of Conservation and Restoration for Cultural Properties - was established in 2004 to take charge of all the training activities in this field.

The organization currently offers around 60 participants four new formative courses on the restoration and conservation of textiles, murals, paper and historical sites.

Meanwhile, the Chinese and Italian governments have started a cultural heritage program under a framework of cooperation.

The program is mainly aimed at protecting and developing sites of historic and artistic value in the lower-income central or western regions of China, especially focusing on the conservation of Chinese minority ethnic groups' cultural heritage as well as historical sites already included or likely to be included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Italy's total financial commitment for the program amounts to 10.55 million euros.

In addition, Italian government plans to provide another 70 million euros in soft loans, the bulk of which will be destined to cultural preservation projects between the two countries.

Experts attending a forum on Sino-Italian cultural heritage preservation last month in Beijing said that the two nations have made substantial progress in this sector in the past years, resulting in the training of a batch of Chinese professionals, improvement of China's technological know-how in this field and promoting understanding of the two ancient civilizations.

The Forbidden City is one of the beneficiaries of this fruitful bilateral collaboration. Four years ago, China and Italy reached an agreement on a joint effort to renovate the imperial palace.

Italian experts took one year to make a preliminary survey and formulate a plan for its protection and restoration.

In 2005, three panels from the two countries conducted restoration work on a part of the Hall of Supreme Harmony located at the center of the Forbidden City. The restoration offers scientific detailed data for further repair and restoration.

In June 2005, the Italian Ministry of National Heritage and Culture and the management office of the Great Wall at Badaling signed a letter of intent for joint repair of a 70-meter-long section of the Wall and a tower built during the Ming Dynasty. Preparatory work for this project is currently in progress.

Source: China Daily