The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, is making an official visit to China, with the aim of expanding cultural cooperation between the two countries, but also to attend the opening of the exhibition “Daedalus, legends of Crete – Daedalus: Myths of Crete” – organized by the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, in cooperation with the Museum of the Palace of the Forbidden City, in Beijing, on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese museum.

Lina Mendoni held a working meeting with Gao Xiang, President of the Chinese Academy of Social Studies (CAAS), which includes the Chinese School of Classical Studies in Athens and is supervised by the Ministry of Culture. The opening of the School’s activity was discussed, within the framework of the provisions of the existing archaeological legislation, with particular reference to the first international conference organised by the School on the study of the Homeric epics, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture, George Didaskalos, and the Vice President of the CAAS, Peng Jinhui. The Minister of Culture and the President of CAAS discussed the co-organization of a conference on the comparative study of the mythologies of the two countries, based on archaeological data, and discussed the possibility of translating literary works into Greek and Chinese, respectively.

In the same context, Lina Mendoni had a working meeting in Xi’an – the starting point of the ancient Silk Road – with the Deputy Governor of Shaanxi Province Xu Mingfei, responsible for Culture and Cultural Heritage. The jurisdiction of the Deputy Governor of Shaanxi also includes the Qinshihuang Emperor’s Mausoleum Museum, with which the National Archaeological Museum cooperates. As part of this cooperation, and with the support of the Tsinghua Heritage Institution of Digitization, the digital exhibition “Parallel Space-Time. Xu Mingfei is due to visit Athens later this month for talks with the management of the National Archaeological Museum, and to learn about best practice methods of restoration of the Acropolis monuments.

Lina Mendoni visited the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known worldwide for its impressive Clay Army. The Minister was briefed on the history of the excavation, as well as the recent findings, and suggested to the Deputy Governor that a temporary exhibition of the warriors be organized in Athens, as this is one of the most important archaeological finds of mankind. Of particular interest was the reference, on behalf of the Chinese experts, to the elements of Greek style, which have been identified in the clay statues, a fact that highlights the cultural interactions with Greece, as early as the 3rd century BC.

At the archaeological site of Taiping, Lina Mendoni discussed with the Director of the excavation Han Jianhua, the possibility of scientific exchanges of experts in prehistoric archaeology. As the excavation is conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Studies, the organization of scientific seminars in the framework of the School’s activity in Athens was discussed. The Taiping Heritage Site, discovered, in 2021, during tank construction; it covers 2 million square meters and dates back to the Xiashang period, 4,150-3,700 years ago. It is the largest archaeological site, of this period, to have been identified in northwest China, providing important evidence for the study of early Chinese civilizations. The Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, which the Minister of Culture toured, houses some extremely interesting finds from excavations in this area, which appears to have the most archaeological sites in China.