BELGRADE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition featuring precious cultural relics from China's Hebei province opened Thursday at the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade.
Titled "Smiles Fill the World: Hebei 'Smiles' on Chinese Cultural Relics", the exhibition centers on the theme of smiles and showcases 31 sets of cultural relics from Hebei, including pottery figurines, sculptures and porcelain.
At the opening ceremony, Bojana Boric Breskovic, director of the National Museum of Belgrade, said that the exhibition is not only a cultural presentation, but also a symbol of trust, respect and friendship.
Boric Breskovic highlighted one of the exhibition's centerpiece artifacts -- a simply modeled ceramic human mask from the Beifudi archaeological site in Hebei dating back more than 8,000 years."Looking at that expression, we recognize something close and familiar," she said. "That smile is perhaps one of the quietest but also most eloquent proofs that between people of different eras and civilizations, there is a continuity and universality of human experience."
Tang Dasheng, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, saying cultural heritage transcends geographical distance and helps strengthen the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia.
"A cultural relic tells a segment of history, and a smile connects two hearts," Tang said. He expressed hope that more Serbian people will learn about China through the exhibition, further enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples through dialogues among civilizations.
Xu Yanhong, deputy director of the Hebei Culture Relics Bureau, said this was the first time that Hebei's precious cultural relics were collectively exhibited at the National Museum of Belgrade.
The exhibits range from the simple smiles depicted on prehistoric ceramic masks to the serene smiles of Northern Qi Buddhist sculptures and scenes of joy portrayed on objects from the Ming and Qing dynasties, offering a glimpse into the long history and rich cultural heritage of Hebei, Xu said.
Zhang Aimin, director of the China Cultural Center in Belgrade, said the exhibition is another vivid example of cultural exchange between China and Serbia, and expressed hope that more cultural activities would promote people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries.
The display drew interest from local visitors.
"This is my first time at an exhibition related to China, and many things have amazed me," Miodrag Krbinski, a Belgrade resident,told Xinhua.
The exhibition is organized under the guidance of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, and hosted by the Hebei Culture Relics Bureau and the China Cultural Center in Belgrade, with Hebei Museum and seven other cultural institutions in Hebei as co-organizers and support from Art Exhibitions China. It will run through Oct. 10.
