Europalia celebrates its 40th anniversary by inviting a truly fascinating guest: China. Europalia is one of the leading arts festivals in Europe and each edition attracts more than one million visitors. During four months, Belgium and its neighbouring regions celebrate the diversity of Chinese culture by hosting hundreds of breathtaking events.

After the Olympic Games and before the Shanghai Universal Exhibition in 2010, from 8th October 2009 to 14th February 2010, europalia.china offers the European audience a unique opportunity to discover all aspects of Chinese culture and lifestyle. 60 years after the creation of the People’s Republic of China, europalia.china aims at rising above the usual clichés and presenting the true authentic dimension of an age-old art of living in the time of globalisation and technical progress.

The art festival is a project jointly organized by Europalia International and the Chinese Ministry of Culture. In China, 19 provinces, cities and autonomous regions, 58 museums, libraries, archeological institutes, and numerous public and private cultural institutions have also contributed to the organization of the festival.

During the four months' period, about 50 exhibitions and 300 performances will be presented to audience in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Luxembourg In total, more than 1,000 artists will take part in the festival.

Four themes

The exhibitions and art performances will follow four main themes, namely Immortal China, Contemporary China, Colorful China, and China and the World.

Each theme is illustrated by a key exhibition:

Son of the Heaven at the Center for Fine Arts will represent Immortal China and will be devoted to the emperors. On display will be some of the most beautiful works of art selected from 5,000 years of China's glorious past.