Audiences are invited to dance with minority artists during the Chinese cultural heritage concert in Paris—opening show for the Shanghai Week in France.--Shanghai Daily 

Qiao Zhengyue from Paris/Shanghai Daily news

A guqin piece "Flowing Water" by Chinese zither master Li Xiangting kicked off a concert dinner titled "Glamorous Shanghai, Splendid Expo" in Brussels, Belgium.

The "glamorous night" of Chinese cultural heritage on Thursday at the Hilton Brussels was among the Shanghai Municipal Government's major promotions for the World Expo 2010 Shanghai in Belgium and France.

Large-scale World Expo 2010 activities began last week. The Brussels night was immediately followed by the launch of Expo promotion in France.

The Shanghai Week in France began with a Chinese cultural heritage concert at the century-old theater La Salle Gaveau in Paris last Saturday. A similar concert was held yesterday in the city of Cuincy and one is scheduled today in Etrechy.

A Shanghai Expo promotion meeting will be held tomorrow and an exhibition about the Shanghai Expo runs at the Palais des Congres in Paris through December 2. China Eastern Airlines sponsored the whole event.

"We have started preparation with specialists in China for construction of the Belgium Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo and we are also mobilizing big companies to get involved in the possibilities of the Chinese market," says Robert Urbain, commissioner general of the Belgian Government Representative Office to the Shanghai Expo. He attended the Brussels Night.

Pierre Simon, director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris, met Shanghai Vice Mayor Yang Xiong during Shanghai Week in France.

"I wanted to understand how enterprises of the chamber in Paris would participate in the Shanghai Expo," Simon said.

"I recently met the chairman of a French company that is skilled in dealing with the queuing problem in large-scale events. I hope they can help the World Expo Shanghai with their professionalism," Simon added.

He said the chamber and the government would pick best urban designs and seek to showcase them in the Urban Best Practices Area, a highlight of the Shanghai Expo.

"The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has paid so much attention to the Chinese market that we opened a new office in Shanghai last year," said Simon. "I've also visited the office of the Shanghai Expo bureau where I was stunned by the magnificent view and startled by the pace of Shanghai's development."

Vicente Loscentales, secretary general of the International Expositions Bureau, said promotions like this, including concerts and culture, are a very good way to attract visitors for Expo.

"I even read an advertising of Shanghai Expo and a report on Shanghai Week in France in 'Le Monde,' the most important French newspaper," said Loscentales. "They are very beautiful and very attractive."

To attract more overseas visitors, the Shanghai government will continuously hold such World Expo promotions both at home and abroad.

The organizers plan Expo activities in South Korea, Japan, Spain and the United States next year, and in London, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa in 2009.

"Today more and more foreigners have great interest in China but there are still misunderstandings about China," said China's Ambassador to Belgium Zhang Qiyue. "Some think China is still unenlightened while some think it's already a developed country. We always need to do a lot of explaining. But big events like the Beijing Olympics 2008 and World Expo will offer long, in-depth communication between China and other countries."

The guqin, a seven-stringed zither featured in concert, has a history of around 3,000 years and was considered a symbol of high Chinese culture. In imperial China, a well-educated scholar was expected to be skilled in four arts: qin (the guqin), qi (the game of Go), shu (calligraphy) and hua (painting).

The guqin piece "Flowing Water" is frequently performed in the Expo promotion series. It is based on the legendary friendship between guqin master Yu Boya and woodsman Zhong Ziqi in ancient China some 3,000 years ago. They became dear friends because the simple rustic Zhong always understood Yu's sophisticated music.

It is hoped that the World Expo will nurture more understanding and weave flowing-water friendship between China and other countries.

"Shanghai Expo will be the most impressive World Expo ever, because of the size of the city, the importance of the country, the site of the Expo, and also its 'Better City, Better Life' theme," said Loscentales during the Expo's promotion in Brussels. "Shanghai is going to hold an unforgettable Expo."