The opening ceremony of "An Encounter with Chinese Culture: Jiangsu Week of the Grand Canal Culture" took place on Tuesday in Brussels, an event of China's Jiangsu province that has received a warm welcome from both local residents and cultural experts.

As part of a series of events to celebrate the year 2025 as the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, the event is co-hosted by the Mission of China to the EU, the Information Office of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, and the Jiangsu International Culture Association.

Xu Ying, president of the Jiangsu International Culture Association, said in her speech that it is highly meaningful to hold the event in Brussels, the headquarters of the EU.

"Here, by the canal in Brussels, we are sharing the stories of China's Grand Canal with everyone. We look forward to Jiangsu and various parts of Europe growing ever closer and forging stronger bonds so that the tree of friendship may bear even more fruitful results," she said.

Ambassador Cai Run, Head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, stated in his speech that the canal is a universally shared cultural symbol, serving as a bridge that fosters mutual learning among civilizations and builds a friendly platform for win-win cooperation. He hoped that more European friends would visit China and Jiangsu, explore the beauty of the canal, experience its charm, and together write a new chapter in China-EU cultural exchange and mutual learning.

Former prime minister of Belgium Yves Leterme stated that Belgium and China share a longstanding history of exchanges and fruitful cooperation and look forward to further deepening people-to-people dialogue and interaction, expanding the scope and depth of economic cooperation, and jointly advancing sustainable development.

He Liping, a sand artist, displayed to the audience how she drew a sand picture about eight meters in length at the very site. On the left, Belgium is depicted with Bruges' fairy tale charm, with red kestrels, blooming poppies, Smurfs at the Atomium, Tintin in the Grand Place, and EU landmarks. On the right, the canal culture features the cities of Changzhou and Wuxi, with giant pandas and cherry blossoms surrounding ancient bridges.

Cao Weiping, a tea snack artist from Changzhou, Jiangsu province, was present at the opening ceremony and the subsequent events, teaching audiences about the methods of making Chinese tea snacks.

"Tea snacks date to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when drinking tea was so popular among both the intellectuals and the ordinary people that snacks for them naturally appeared. So it's fair to say that our tea snacks have a history of over 1,400 years, made of daily food and carved delicately in the shapes of different fruits in different seasons," she said.

Ambroise Marcais, a master's student from France, came to the ceremony, which also unveiled the culture week's cycling activity along the central canal in Brussels. "I really love China, just second to my motherland France, and that's why I'm learning Chinese now. I look forward to cycling along the Grand Canal in Jiangsu in the near future," he said.

A Spanish violinist, Marina Martin, toured the Millennia-old Canal, Charm of Jiangsu exhibition and was very interested in the exhibit of Chinese instruments, including the erhu, a traditional musical instrument.

"I loved the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto when I first listened to it," she said, recalling previous visits to China. "I think music transcends borders and events like this really help different peoples appreciate each other's culture."

Han Jing in Brussels contributed to this story.