(Video: Best wishes to Yu Garden Hamburg from Hamburg Liaison Office China)

After a two-year renovation, the Yu Garden Hamburg reopened its doors to the public, with an ambition to connect China more with Europe.

The garden is a mimic of the Yu Garden in Shanghai. An opening ceremony was held on January 17 to celebrate the friendship between Shanghai and Hamburg, who became sister cities in 1986.

(Chinese drum performance at the opening ceremony)

(An ensemble of Chinese and Western instruments)

“Yu Garden is a representative of China’s classic architecture. Chinese people like to share their best treasures with their best friends, and the Yu Garden Hamburg is a cultural treasure shared between the people of Shanghai and Hamburg, a symbol of the two cities’ everlasting friendship,” said Du Xiaohui, ambassador of China to Hamburg. As he believes, the reopening of the Yu Garden Hamburg is a rebirth.

In his speech, Dr. Peter Tschentscher, mayor of Hamburg, said the Yu Garden Hamburg has provided local people with a possibility to get a closer look at China and will continue its contribution to expanding and deepening the friendship between Shanghai and Hamburg, as well as between China and Germany.

(Du Xiaohui and Dr. Peter Tschentscher at the ceremony)

Corinna Nienstedt from the Hamburg City Hall was very glad to see the renovated Yu Garden, where she expected to see more Chinese-style events and taste authentic Chinese food. While wishing the Chinese people a happy Year of the Rat, she said the rat is thefirst animalof the Chinesezodiac, which implies a new beginning, as is true of the Yu Garden Hamburg.

Completed in 2008, the Yu Garden Hamburg was supported by the Shanghai and Hamburg governments. According to Wen Zhenyu, who is responsible for the operation of the garden, future events can be expected for the Europeans to learn more about China, and the venue will serve as a platform for exchanges between Chinese and European entrepreneurs. For instance, two high-level forums for Chinese, German, Kazakh, Tajik, Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian entrepreneurs will be organized this year.

(Wen Zhenyu (fourth from left))

(Photos by CRI Online)