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Remarks by Ambassador Chen Chuandong at the Opening of Tea for Harmony Yaji Cultural Salon
2023-05-27 16:49

Your Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas,

Your Excellencies colleagues from the diplomatic corps,

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,


Good afternoon and As Salamu Alaykum. 

Artists from Chengdu, Sichuan, welcome to Jordan!

Welcome to the opening of the Tea for Harmony, Yaji Cultural Salon. I wish to express my gratitude to Her Royal Highness for her presence and to Her Excellency Haifa Al Najjar, Minister of Culture for sending her representative. You are both great champions for preserving cultural heritage, your participation makes us deeply honoured.

The history of drinking tea in China dates back to five thousand years ago. As a matter of fact, tea has become part of the cultural DNA of the Chinese people. Mr. Lin Yutang, a famous Chinese scholar of the 20th Century, said that wherever we Chinese go, a pot of tea will keep us happy.  

Tea is also deeply embedded in the traditional Jordanian culture. Imagine you are in Petra or Wadi Rum, drinking tea with Bedouin friends around a bonfire and under the starry sky, what could be more enjoyable than that!

Tea is also one of the most important cash crops in the world. The global annual output of tea related industry exceeds 18 billion US dollars, making tea a valuable tool for reducing poverty, increasing income for farmers, empowering women and youth, and promoting ecological sustainability. 

In 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating May 21 as International Tea Day. In 2022, traditional tea processing techniques and their associated social practices in China were added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making Chinese tea culture a shared asset of humanity. This year marks the 20th anniversary of adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Against this background, our gathering in Amman, a city so rich in cultural heritage, meeting friends over tea and discussing topical issues over tea, gives our event special meaning.

Tea is closely associated with a core value of the Chinese culture - Harmony, harmony between people, harmony between people and nature, and harmony between individuals and the society. 

Yaji, as in the event title, means gathering of Literati. Scholars in ancient China gathered to recite poems, admire flowers, paintings and calligraphy, taste tea and enjoy music. It embodies harmony and elegance, kindred spirit, and the philosophy of man and nature in one. 

Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which highlights respect for cultural diversity. Replying to a letter from a group of prominent Arab artists, including Jordanian ones, who participated in the "Silk Road Artists' Rendezvous" visit to China, President Xi noted that culture can connect hearts, and art can link the world. He also wrote that from the opening of the ancient Silk Road to the Belt and Road Initiative, exchanges between Chinese and Arab civilizations have spanned thousands of years with mutual appreciation, leaving a legacy of mutual learning. 

Tea was a very important commodity on the ancient Silk Road. We have named the event Tea for Harmony, Yaji Cultural Salon, to give our friends an immersive experience of tea culture of China, with a view to fostering cultural exchanges, deepening people’s friendship in pursuit of common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom.

At this Salon, artists from Chengdu, Sichuan, which is known as Land of Abundance and homeland of Giant Pandas, will present us fragrant tea, melodious ancient Chinese music, colorful traditional costumes, and stunning skills. I hope you will be able to enjoy a cup of tea and appreciate the charm of Chinese culture. 

Tomorrow is Independence Day of Jordan. A week from now, Jordanians will celebrate the grand wedding of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Husssin. This is double happiness. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Jordanian people happy Independence Day, His Royal Highness and Miss Rajwa lifetime happiness and sweetness, and wish Jordan greater progress and prosperity. 

Before concluding, I wish to thank the Amman China Cultural Centre, working with the Univsersity of Jordan and the TAG Confucius Institute, for making this wonderful event possible. My thanks also go to the Cairo Amman Bank Art Gallery for providing the venue.

I wish the event a great success.

Thank you, shukran, and enjoy the programme.


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