Beijing on show for a week

Capital uses event to showcase winter Olympic games bid
For Beijing Week, the city has offered Peking Opera, Beijing duck, acrobatics, lion dances and other traditional treasures starting May 30 to attract visitors to the China Pavilion at Milan Expo 2015.
The adventures of the Italian traveler Marco Polo, told through ballet and drama, was staged in the expo's auditorium during the week. The expo started a month ago.
The dance drama Marco Polo is about the famous Silk Road traveler at the Milan Expo on May 31. |
Chinese dancers perform the dance drama Marco Polo. |
A Chinese floral arrangement at the Milan Expo during Beijing Week. |
A promotional video for China at the Milan Expo. Photos by Xinhua |
In addition to cultural exposure, Beijing has used this event to boost economic and trade collaboration with its European and Italian partners through a business forum.
At the Milan Expo, which runs until October, Beijing is also doing its first overseas presentation of an international horticultural expo that will take place in the Chinese capital in 2019 and it is promoting Beijing's candidacy for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
"We are here to let Beijing shine at the expo, ensure that mutual understanding can be deepened and people-to-people exchanges can be boosted," says Li Wei, secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, at the start of Beijing Week.
After Beijing, 16 provinces and municipalities of China will present their special activities until the end of October in the China Pavilion, which is an arched timber-and-steel structure that resembles rippling wheat.
Li says that as a city with over 3,000 years of history and as a capital for 862 years, Beijing is endowed with rich traditions that interact brilliantly with its modern vitality.
During the week, artistic and visual presentations of Beijing's agriculture, tourism, fashion and other industries have been delivered in the landscaped garden outside the China Pavilion and other venues at the expo site.
"Beijing is open to global communications and it will strengthen collaboration with cities around the rest of the world in various areas including economics, technology and culture. Beijing is eager to work more closely with other cities. And we sincerely hope that our friends from all around the world will continue to support the development of the city," Li said.
Wang Jinzhen, commissioner general of the China Pavilion, says the expo is an excellent platform for China's provinces and municipalities to share their experiences and strengthen collaboration with Italy and other countries. He says Beijing Week is a good example for other Chinese cities and provinces to follow.
"Firstly, Beijing week covers a range of activities with various themes, ranging from agriculture to food safety, which will fully display the glamour of the city. The glazed red walls and splendid landscape of the pavilion all add charm to the city."
An exhibition of Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games shows visitors photos of the venues and Chinese athletes.
Presenting the city's candidacy is an opportunity for more people to learn about the bid's progress, says Xiong Jiuling, chairwoman of theChina Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-council.
Beijing Week has proved the perfect platform for promoting the capital's international spirit.
"The entire population of Beijing has participated with great enthusiasm in the collective effort for the candidacy to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, and is fully prepared for the event," Xiong says.
Sustainable development, and an economical and athlete-centered event are the concepts underpinning Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
On June 8, the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission will release a comprehensive assessment report following its visits to Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, earlier this year. The IOC will announce the host city on July 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"I believe Beijing's candidacy is very strong, considering the expertise developed by China in hosting high-level international events," says Stefano Gatti, director-general of Italy's pavilion at the expo.
In his view, Beijing has the right climate and mountainous environment to host the games, as well as the requisite infrastructure and transport systems for such a big event.
Gatti sees the role of world expos as world showcases for international events and candidacies.
"Beijing is rightly promoting its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Milan Expo," he says.
Xinhua contributed to the story.
fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily European Weekly 06/05/2015 page15)