HONG KONG, December 19. /TASS/. More than 115 events of the Russia-China Years of Culture (2024-2025), out of 230 planned, have already occurred this year, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov told TASS during his visit to Hong Kong, where he attended a concert featuring stars of Russian classical music, organized as part of this two-year project.
He noted that preliminary results of the 2024 cultural exchanges, launched by the leaders of the two countries during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing in May, can already be evaluated. "As of now, more than half of the 230 events planned under this two-year project have been executed," said the head of the Russian diplomatic mission.
Morgulov highlighted some of the standout events, including performances by ballet troupes from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, artists from Boris Eifman’s Ballet Theater, the MusicAeterna Orchestra conducted by Teodor Currentzis, the Vakhtangov and Alexandrinsky Theaters, and the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, among others, which were met with great success. "Chinese audiences not only had the chance to see their favorite, well-known performers from our country but also to discover new talents. For instance, this season, opera diva Hibla Gerzmava gave her first solo concerts at leading local venues," Morgulov added.
The ambassador also pointed to the dynamic development of inter-museum exchanges. "The Tretyakov Gallery’s exhibition Russian Soul at the Capital Museum in Beijing, the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ Russian Banquet project at the National Museum of China, and the Russian Museum’s Russian Avant-Garde exhibition in Yangzhou and Hangzhou were met with genuine interest by our Chinese friends," he noted.
Morgulov emphasized the continuation of the tradition of reciprocal Cultural Festivals. This year, the festival program in Beijing and Shanghai included performances by two renowned Russian ensembles: the State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble Russia named after Lyudmila Zykina and the State Academic Honored Dance Ensemble of Dagestan Lezginka.
A vivid finale to the year’s cultural program were the Night of Masters concerts in Hong Kong. "The local audience warmly welcomed our world-famous musicians— Yury Bashmet, Denis Matsuev, Ildar Abdrazakov, and Olga Peretyatko. It is highly symbolic that these very performers opened the series of events for the Years of Culture with their performances at the Great Wall of China in Beijing this May," the Russian diplomat concluded.