Visitors show interest in traditional Chinese fans at the Dynamic Shanghai event. [Photo/Xinhua]

After visiting Russia, Japan and the United States, the Dynamic Shanghai event has made the long-anticipated return to Belgium with the Poetic Jiangnan: Style of China exhibition at the China Cultural Centre.

"Although it is an industrial, financial and commercial megalopolis of China, Shanghai is also active in developing and sharing its traditional and modern culture," said Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming at the opening ceremony recently.

Belgian Minister of Budget, Civil Service and Administrative Simplification in the Government of the French Community, Andre Flahaut, attended the ceremony alongside some 120 invited guests.

Representatives from the Information Office of the Shanghai Municipality have visited Belgium on four previous occasions to promote the city internationally through multiple cultural events around the world and encourage new opportunities for collaboration.

"Discovering Shanghai means falling under the spell of its poetry and dynamism. This dynamism is sure to inspire vacations and the desire for travel," says Flahaut.

The exhibition's focal point lies in showcasing the evolution of Chinese ink painting and reflecting the contemporary image of Shanghai and Jiangnan (south of Yangtze River) cultures, presenting iconic symbols of the city, all animated by a series of typical Shanghai activities.

At the exhibition, several generations of Chinese ink artists from a group of core academic institutions in Shanghai have brought their deep understanding and inheritance of the essence of Chinese traditional culture with the purpose of sharing this art with the European public.

The event, organized on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, unites tradition and modernity.

The exhibition, which opened on June 17, will run through Friday at the Cultural Centre of China in Brussels before continuing its tour to Hungary.

This is the fourth time in five years that the Dynamic Shanghai event has been presented in Belgium.