Sep 20, 2024 | Source: mp.weixin.qq.com
At the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, visitors can travel through time and space and explore the century-old history of automobiles along the long "double spiral" exhibition corridor.
Stuttgart is known as the "City of Automobiles", where the headquarters of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and other car companies are located. Did you know? In Germany, if you want to build a car, 70% of the parts can be found in Taicang, a small city in Jiangsu Province. This is a vivid epitome of the development of China and Germany, mutual benefit and win-win. There are many such stories.
On the afternoon of September 18th local time, the opening ceremony of the theme exhibition "Civilization Encounters: Chinese Folk Music Jiangsu Week" and "The Grand Canal Meets the Rhine" was held at the Stuttgart Concert Hall in Germany. The event was hosted by the Information Office of Jiangsu Provincial Government, and was organized by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, Modern Express, and the Information Office of Wuxi Municipal Government. The theme exhibition tells the stories of five civilizations' mutual learning, and the deep friendship between the Chinese and German people's cultural exchanges and mutual integration, as well as the mutual understanding and closeness of the people, which has given the audience a deeper understanding and knowledge of Jiangsu and China, and made China's image more realistic, three-dimensional, and comprehensive.
In China, the 2500-year-old Grand Canal runs like a dragon from north to south; In Germany, the Rhine River also flows like a silver belt, crossing the land from north to south. Water endows the two countries with unique cultural charm and carries the common legends and dreams of the people. Although China and Germany are separated by thousands of miles, they have an inextricable bond in various aspects such as society, economy, culture and art. This is the origin of the theme of this exhibition, "The Grand Canal Meets the Rhine".
During the visit, attentive audiences were pleasantly surprised to find that the route of the tour was exactly the direction of the two rivers, the Grand Canal and the Rhine. In the exhibition hall, the audience put on VR glasses and instantly "crossed" from the Rhine River to the Grand Canal, braving the wind and waves at the bow of the ship, and taking in the green picture scroll.
The year 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a friendly relationship between Jiangsu Province of China and Baden-Württemberg of Germany. The theme exhibition "The Grand Canal Meets the Rhine" uses pictures, videos, 3D models, live displays, and digital interactions to carefully design five chapters, each of which is highlighted by a proverb with similar meanings in both countries. It tells the story of five civilizations learning from each other, and the deep friendship between the Chinese and German people behind it.
For example, in the chapter "A Car and a City", the Chinese proverb "United we stand, divided we fall" and the German proverb "Going it alone is addition, working together is multiplication" are quoted respectively, which are similar in meaning and facilitate German audiences to better understand the exhibition content and instantly close the distance between them.
"I am very proud, excited and gratified. Today's event was very exciting and received a very warm response from the German audience," Huang Yiyang, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt, said in an interview with the reporter of Modern Express. He said that Jiangsu Province and Baden-Württemberg have very close ties. Jiangsu has a long history, diverse culture and rich intangible cultural heritage. The German people, especially the people of Baden-Württemberg, are eager to have a deeper understanding of Jiangsu. In the theme exhibition of "The Grand Canal meets the Rhine", five stories of mutual learning between civilizations were told. These stories are just a microcosm. In fact, there are many places for both sides to explore in terms of humanities, history, and art. The prospects are very promising. We also encourage more German groups to go to Jiangsu and China to further deepen the exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples
Jürgen Eberbach, Chairman of the China-Germany Friendship Association in Baden-Württemberg, said that there is no better theme to express the resonance between Chinese and German cultures than the theme of "The Grand Canal Meets the Rhine". He said frankly that he liked the design and content of this exhibition very much. At the end of the event, he took the initiative to propose to the organizer that he hoped to obtain the electronic version of the exhibition materials for careful reading. He also promised to publish the wonderful stories on the exhibition board on the association's website, so that more Germans could understand the stories from Jiangsu and China.
Georg Noack, the curator of the East Asia/Southeast Asia/South Asia section at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, has a deep interest in Chinese culture. Although he has visited China several times, he has yet to visit Jiangsu. "Through this exhibition, I learned that Jiangsu has a lot of interesting cultural history, many outstanding musicians and beautiful scenery. I really hope to visit Suzhou gardens and some important museums and historical sites in Jiangsu. I especially look forward to visiting Jiangsu recently."
"This exhibition is amazing. I haven't been to Jiangsu, but after seeing the exhibition, I really want to go there." Holtkamp, senior consultant and director of the President's Office of the International Office of the University of Stuttgart, said that from the exhibition, it can be seen that Jiangsu is very modern and rich in historical and cultural resources. "I think it's a good idea to introduce Jiangsu to Stuttgart." Holtkamp said that he would suggest German friends to go to the Qingyin Garden, a Chinese garden in Stuttgart, first to understand China from this Jiangsu garden, and then go to China to explore more wonderful experiences. "The same moon, the same world, this concept is the most important."
Dieter Polzin, a German friend and son-in-law of Wuxi, took a three-hour drive to Stuttgart after asking his wife for leave. Although I have been to Jiangsu several times for work, I have not yet thoroughly understood the local history and culture. This exhibition has given me a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Jiangsu. Especially when seeing the chapter "One-sided Food and One-sided Culture" in the exhibition, Dieter Polzin and his wife felt very familiar. He told the reporter that he liked to eat Wuxi's Xiaolongbao the most.
What German audiences enjoy most is the five stories of mutual learning among civilizations told in the exhibition. "This is a civilized exchange and mutual learning that spans from ancient times to the present and across thousands of miles." This is the common sentiment of the audience.
