Following the successive Beijing and Shanghai culture weeks held in France on the occasion of the China-France Culture Year, North China's port city Tianjin will co-host "Tianjin, China Week" in Italy this October.

Zhang Junfang, vice-mayor of Tianjin said here Wednesday at a press conference that "Tianjin Week," a government-sponsored exchange activity, is designed to mark the 35th anniversary of the founding of China-Italy diplomatic ties.

According to Zhang, "Tianjin Week" will start on Oct. 21 with a concert jointly given by Chinese and Italian musicians. From Oct. 21 to 27, a dozen projects will be staged in Rome and Milan, including an exposition of the local handicrafts and customs of Tianjin, a cultural relics show and auction, a picture show named "Tianjin Impression", a forum on China-Italy Culture Exchange, a volleyball match between young girls from the two countries, and an artistic performance.

On Oct. 22, a wedding for a hundred couples will be held in Rome, with Chinese and Italian officials attending and giving blessings to the couples.

Like in other bilateral exchange activities, Zhang said, Tianjin entrepreneurs will be invited to "Tianjin Week" to fraternize with their Italian counterparts. Tianjin will also present sculptures to the local governments of Rome and Lombardy, respectively, to stand as symbols of China-Italy friendship.

Tianjin still holds China's most complete Italian-style construction area, showing a long history of contact between this port city and faraway Italy. In 1985, Tianjin and Lombardy became friendly cities, and dialogue and cooperation between the two sides since then have further strengthened.

Ding Wei, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Culture, said the projects of the "Tianjin Week" covered wide-ranging fields like culture, economy and trade, science, education, tourism and physical culture, which will help enhance the holistic mutual understanding between the Chinese and Italian people.

Italian Culture Year has been scheduled to open in China in 2006.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2005)