Shanghai painting, photo exhibition opens in Bulgaria

A Chinese painting and photo exhibition dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria opened here on Wednesday.

The three-day event called "Shanghai in my Heart" was jointly organized by the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, the Shanghai International Culture Association and the Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA). Eighty works of famous Shanghai artists and photographers are on display.

The images present landscapes of Shanghai, its modern culture, architectural style and art, and images capturing the lives of everyday people.

Morning exercise, a house in snow, life on the wetlands, Pudong International Airport, a new rural village, morning in the ancient town, and dragon boat races are among the themes of the photos and paintings.

Yin Yicui, chairwoman of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, said at the opening ceremony that these works interpreted Shanghai from different perspectives.

She said she hoped that throughout this exhibition Bulgarian people would come to better understand China and Shanghai, and the people of the two countries would deepen their friendship, promote cooperation and implement joint development.

On Tuesday, Yin signed a sister-city memorandum between Shanghai and Sofia with Sofia Mayor Jordanka Fandakova, signalling a new stage of development in the friendly relations between the two cities.

In turn, Todor Chobanov, deputy mayor of Sofia, who is also a former deputy minister of culture, said the exhibition demonstrated that Shanghai was a place of outstanding creators, and he was confident Shanghai would reach the hearts of many Sofia residents.

Officials including Chinese ambassador to Bulgaria Wei Jinghua and UBA chairman Lyuben Genov, as well as dozens of Chinese art lovers attended the ceremony at UBA's gallery "Shipka 6."