The Suzhou Day event with the theme of “Suzhou: The City of Water and Vitality” opened at the China Pavilion of the World Expo in Osaka, Japan on May 22. It featured live demonstrations of Suzhou traditional crafts and exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage items such as Suzhou embroidery, Kesi weaving, and Suzhou-style fans. And the digital version of “Prosperous Suzhou”, a magnificent scroll painting depicting the bustling urban life of Suzhou in ancient times, was also presented at the China Pavilion, showing the unique charm of Suzhou to the world.
One of the highlights of the event was the showcase of Suzhou’s intangible cultural heritages, which served as an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and Japan. In the afternoon, performances of Kunqu Opera, Pingtan, and Guqin (one of China’s oldest plucked string instruments, also known as a seven-stringed lyre) were staged. The audience in the multi-functional hall of the China Pavilion broke into thunderous applause at the conclusion of the performance of a classical episode of the Kunqu opera Peony Pavilion.
Suzhou is not only a city with rich culture but also an open city with developed economy. The city established its first Sino-foreign joint venture in 1984 with Japan’s Swany Group and now it is home to 19,000 foreign-funded enterprises. And 178 Fortune 500 enterprises have invested in 493 projects in Suzhou. Japan is Suzhou’s third-largest source of foreign investment, more than 1,400 Japanese enterprises having invested and started business in Suzhou.
Those attending the opening ceremony included 216 important guests from relevant Japanese departments, foreign trade and investment promotion agencies, and well-known enterprises.
The Expo Osaka, which is themed on “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, opened in Apr. 13 and will last until Oct. 13 in 2025.
