Unveiling ceremony of „Overseas Peony Culture Promotion Centre” at the Confucius Institute in Sofia

On April 18, the “Overseas Peony Culture Promotion Center” of the Confucius Institute in Sofia was officially unveiled. More than 60 participants attended the ceremony, including Georgi Dimov, Mayor of Bozhurishte Municipality; Vladislava Simeonova, Deputy Mayor; Tsvetelina Tsvetanova from the municipality’s Public Relations Department; Reneta Bozhankova, Vice-Rector of Sofia University; Dimitriyka Gerasimova, Principal of 78th Secondary School in Bankya; Yordanka Dimitrova, Vice-Principal; Liu Bei, representative of the China Cultural Center in Sofia; Aksiniya Koleva, Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia; Chen Ying, Chinese Director; as well as Chinese culture lovers.

Aksiniya Koleva, the Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, stated in her speech that the establishment of the “Overseas Peony Culture Promotion Center” (Bulgaria Station) will help the Institute use Chinese peony culture as a link to promote Chinese language teaching and foster cultural dialogue between the peoples of China and Bulgaria, thereby better fulfilling its role as a bridge.

Georgi Dimov, Mayor of Bozhurishte Municipality, introduced the city’s representative historical and cultural symbols. He emphasized the importance of preserving historical and cultural heritage and expressed that this occasion would mark the beginning of cooperation with the Confucius Institute in Sofia, strengthening exchanges between Bozhurishte and China and jointly promoting cultural mutual learning between the two countries.

After the unveiling ceremony, the representatives from Bozhurishte Municipality presented the directors of the Confucius Institute in Sofia with award-winning artworks from a student painting competition themed around the city’s traditional flower, the peony. A lucky draw segment was also held at the unveiling ceremony.

In conjunction with the unveiling ceremony, a series of rich and engaging peony-themed cultural workshops was also held, featuring activities such as peony paper-cutting, traditional Chinese painting, decorating oil-paper umbrellas and round fans with peony motifs, as well as trying on Hanfu clothing. The diverse formats and lively atmosphere were warmly received by the local community. The workshops also formed part of the Confucius Institute in Sofia’s “International Chinese Language Day” celebration series.

Bozhurishte Municipality is located in the Sofia Region of Bulgaria and is a city with a rich historical and cultural heritage. The peony is one of its three major traditional cultural symbols, and the city derives its name from it. Each year, the city hosts Bulgaria’s largest and most influential peony flower festival.

The “Overseas Peony Culture Promotion Center” is an international cultural platform jointly promoted by the Center for Cultural Communication of the China International Communications Group and the Heze Municipal People’s Government Information Office. The Bulgaria Station is the fourth such center to be established abroad. The Confucius Institute in Sofia will use the peony as a cultural bridge to carry out joint cooperation with Heze City and Bozhurishte Municipality, thereby promoting cultural exchanges between China and Bulgaria.

The lucky draw souvenirs and the cultural creative products for the peony-themed workshop at this event were provided by the Peony District of Heze City, Shandong Province.  

Xinhua News Agency and other media outlets also reported on the unveiling ceremony in their coverage of the “International Chinese Language Day” series of activities at the Confucius Institute in Sofia.

Source: Confucius Institute in Sofia

Text: Zhang Kaiyue

Photos: Zhang Kaiyue, Wang Yan

Editors: Chen Ying, Aksiniya Koleva, Ding Chen

English translation: Dima Pironkova