The EU Delegation to China has opened a travelling photo exhibition in Beijing showcasing 67 cultural sites across the European Union that hold the European Heritage Label.
The exhibition, titled “Past Forward: European Heritage, Global Connections,” opened at the 798 Art District and drew more than 100 guests, including diplomats, cultural professionals, academics and members of the public, the European External Action Service (EEAS) reported on Friday.
The European Heritage Label is an EU initiative launched in 2011 that highlights sites linked to European history and integration.
Photographs in the show cover sites in 22 EU member states, with 10 locations given dedicated “spotlight” panels to outline milestones in Europe’s shared history.
Examples of spotlighted sites include Ventotene Island in Italy, linked to the Ventotene Manifesto; the village of Schengen in Luxembourg, where the Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985; and the European District of Strasbourg in France, home to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.
Other featured locations include the Peace Palace in The Hague in the Netherlands, the site of the Pan-European Picnic on the Austrian-Hungarian border, and the Historic Gdańsk Shipyard in Poland, associated with the Solidarity trade union movement.
Speeches at the opening
EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo opened the event, speaking about “the heritage of European integration and the role of culture in EU — China dialogue,” the EEAS said.
“Culture has always been a powerful bridge between our peoples,” Toledo stated.
A second address was delivered by Dr Bastien Varoutsikos of the European Heritage Label Bureau on “Places, Values, People: How the European Heritage Label Reimagines Cultural Belonging.”
“Each photograph represents a real place — a place you can visit, you can experience,” Varoutsikos said.
Guests were then invited to view the exhibition on the fourth floor, followed by an informal networking reception.
