BEIJING, May 16. /TASS/. Events marking the cross-cultural Years of Russia and China will be held across various regions of the two countries, not just in big cities, so people from all walks of life will have a chance to connect with each other, Russian President Vladimir Putin said ahead of an opening concert.

"The program proposed extends not only to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Beijing and Shanghai, it covers a significant number of cities and regions of the two countries," the Russian president pointed out. "This means that many people will have an opportunity to get to know each other, they will be involved in mutual communication."

The Russian leader pointed out that Russians are very interested in Chinese culture, past and present.

This "manifests itself not only in the use of Chinese motifs in d·cor, architecture, in the fascination with the Chinese language, tea ceremonies, the art of porcelain making or, say, wushu," Putin pointed out. The Russian president noted the popularity of "modern Chinese cinema, paintings and books written by Chinese authors" in Russia.

Concluding his speech, the Russian leader expressed hope that all the planned events would be carried out successfully.