China key guest at Janadriyah Festival

The National Heritage and Culture Festival, popularly known as Janadriyah Festival, will kick off April 3 with Chinese participants erecting a pavilion occupying 2,000 square meters.
Chinese Ambassador Li Chengwen and Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, assistant deputy commander of the SNG and deputy chairman of the festival’s supreme committee, addressed a joint press conference yesterday to announce the participation of China as this year’s main guest country.
“The Chinese pavilion will occupy 2,000 square meters at the festival grounds,” said Li.
“The festival is getting better and better with each passing year … King Abdullah and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Festival, have been closely watching the event,” Al-Tuwaijri said.
The Chinese ambassador described it as the one of the greatest festivals in the world.
“It is a great pleasure to be guest country at this year festival. This is a great opportunity for us to present the real picture of China in term of our rich civilization and culture,” Chengwen said.
He added: “This is not only a cultural gathering; it a great chance for us to contribute to spreading and pushing the case for world peace. Under the theme, “China the Rising Beauty,” Beijing will showcase the best image of ancient China.
He also said that the, “Chinese civilization is closely connected with the Islamic and Arab civilization from the very beginning. We will take this opportunity to further exchange knowledge on the Arabic language and religion, especially Islam, as we have more than 23 million Muslim in China.”
The two-week event will open with a camel race.
“This cultural fair is a realization of our nation’s identity and to feature our values and heritage with a mission to make it known to one and all,” said Al-Tuwaijri.
Events have been lined up for the nearly 1 million visitors expected to attend Janadriyah.
This year’s event has created quite a buzz after reports emerged that popular actor Jackie Chan will attending the festivities along with a number of presidents, diplomats and nearly 300 intellectuals including thinkers and poets.