China Cultural Center in Malta Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The China Cultural Center in Malta celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 22 with a series of events jointly organized with the Xi’an Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

A pair of terracotta warrior replicas from Xi’an, the capital of China’s Shaanxi Province, were donated to the Chinese Garden of Serenity. The donation ceremony was followed by an outdoor concert featuring traditional Chinese music and dancing performed by artists from Xi’an.

At the opening of the concert, Chinese Ambassador to Malta Yu Dunhai said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malta more than 50 years ago, they have established a profound friendship. The China Cultural Center in Malta has taken part in cultural exchanges, teaching, and training, Yu pointed out. It has also created cultural projects including Chinese New Year celebrations, a Chinese kite festival, and the “Imagine China” children’s art competition. It has become an important window for Maltese people to understand China, and will continue playing an important role in enhancing the friendship and people-to-people exchanges between China and Malta, he said.

Culture has played an important part in the development of the friendship between the peoples of Malta and China, said Marie-louise Coleiro Preca, chair of the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. “We are marking another significant milestone as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China Cultural Center in Malta,” she said. “This is not just a milestone for Malta but also a watershed moment for Europe, as this China Cultural Center was the first of its kind in Europe.”

Charmaine St John, mayor of Santa Lucija, said that the friendship between China and Malta has always been based on equality and mutual benefit, and she hopes to see more cultural interaction between the two countries in the Garden of Serenity in the future.