Israelis get a taste of China from historic to modern

The Dizengoff Center, a large shopping mall located in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, recently hosted the cultural promotion event Charming Beijing.

The event, held in late October and organized by the Beijing Culture and Tourism Bureau, aimed to help more Israeli people learn about the culture and tourist attractions of Beijing.

China's capital is a fascinating tourism destination rich in traditional culture and modern civilization, said Ju Qiang, deputy director of the bureau's Festivals and Events Organizing Department.

Ju said Beijing and Tel Aviv have conducted comprehensive cooperation in recent years.

As direct flights between Beijing and Tel Aviv increase, the relations between the two cities are becoming closer, Ju said, adding that broader and deeper cooperation, especially in culture and tourism, is expected to be realized in the future.

Since the establishment of the sister-city relationship in 2006, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation have been increasing between the two cities.

The Charming Beijing event was another example of flourishing relations between Beijing and Tel Aviv, and served as a valuable showcase for Beijing, said Tao Chen, director of the China Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.

Beijing is the political center of the country, and the city is renowned for its historical palaces, temples, parks, tombs, city walls and gates, Tao said.

During the event, a photo exhibition featuring more than 40 pictures gave audiences both a traditional and modern view of Beijing. A series of interactive cultural activities were also held with a great number of Israelis taking part.

Many of the Israeli visitors showed interest in trying their hand at Chinese calligraphy and paper-cutting, as well as painting lanterns and opera masks. They also tried on Chinese ancient costumes and took photos.

Delighted by the activities, many of the visitors expressed their wish to visit Beijing and other places in China.

Alex Kaplan, 48, said he'd visited Beijing twice in the past decade, and remarked on the great changes that have taken place in the city.

He was amazed to see Chinese people enjoy a cash-free lifestyle through well-established and integrated mobile payment.

Diskin Etty, 70, was excited when she won first prize in a lucky draw, a round-trip ticket between Tel Aviv and Beijing. Five years ago, she traveled to Beijing together with her family and visited the Great Wall. She said they were deeply impressed by Chinese cuisine and Chinese people's hospitality.

Mike Dove, a 51-year-old father, wrote "happy birthday" in Chinese with brush strokes on red paper, saying it will be a special gift for his daughter, who will turn 18 years old soon.

Through the Charming Beijing event, Israeli people learned about the Beijing experience from history to modern times, said Zhang Qian, director of the department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Beijing Culture and Tourism Bureau.

Xinhua

(China Daily 11/27/2019 page6)