People visit the Art & Peace Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Works of Art, in Thessaloniki, Greece, May 10, 2018. The exhibition kicked off here on Thursday and will end on May 27. (Xinhua/Dimitris Tosidis)

ATHENS, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The world is in the midst of a major reform and development, but development means nothing without peace. That is the main message representatives of China Artists Association conveyed on the occasion of an exhibition entitled "Art and Peace".

The exhibition was inaugurated on Thursday evening at the State Museum of Contemporary Art in northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Contemporary artists from China exhibit their works as part of the project "Journey of Chinese art in the world". The exhibition, launched in 2016, has already been successfully held in Denmark, Italy, Finland, Georgia and the EU Headquarters in Brussels.

"Art and Peace, the theme of the exhibition responds to the relationship of our countries, because we would like to further tighten our bilateral relations with Greece. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, we would also like to show the whole world our tradition," Xu Li, Vice President of China Artists Association, told Xinhua.

The exhibition, hosted following Greece's participation as an honorable country at the 7th Beijing Contemporary Art Biennale in 2017, aims to use the language of Chinese contemporary art to talk about peace, to tell stories about harmony, and to comfort those who have suffered and still suffer from violence around the world, the organizers explained.

With over 40 works of different styles, shapes and forms, the exhibition offers a vivid picture of contemporary art in China, highlights the Chinese value "harmony is precious", and embodies the constant pursuit of peace and well-being.

"This exhibition as well as the communication we have with the Chinese Artists Association is a very good opportunity, because I think cooperation will not end here. We have already met, and we have already been in a process to discuss further partnerships in the future," Maria Tsantsanoglou, director of Thessaloniki's State Museum of Contemporary Art, told Xinhua.

The exhibition will last until May 27.