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A plaque for Culture City of East Asia was conferred to Shaoxing, marking the launch of Culture City of East Asia 2021 in the city on March 31. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The launch ceremony for the year-round cultural exchange activities of the Culture City of East Asia 2021 was held on March 31 in Shaoxing, a national historic and cultural city in Zhejiang province.

Themed "Quest Shaoxing culture throughout millennia", the activities will focus on the city's five "golden name cards" – legendary flood fighting hero Yu the Great, Chinese idealist philosopher Wang Yangming, Chinese writer Lu Xun, Shaoxing huangjiu (yellow rice wine) and calligraphy.

The Culture City of East Asia program was proposed by the cultural ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea. One or two cultural cities from each country are named as the Culture Cities of East Asia every year to enhance intercultural communication and promote the development and prosperity of East-Asian culture through a series of cultural exchange activities.

Shaoxing, a historic city in Zhejiang province, is dubbed "a museum without walls". [Photo/official WeChat account of Shaoxing bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism]

Shaoxing was selected as a Culture City of East Asia last year. Local officials said at the ceremony that the city will grasp the opportunity to showcase its rich cultural heritage and historic tourist attractions to the world, boost development in the fields of culture and tourism, and enhance international cultural exchange and cooperation with other countries, especially Japan and South Korea.

Foreign officials from the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai and the Embassy of South Korea in China also delivered speeches at the ceremony. They both expressed hope that Culture City of East Asia 2021 could help bolster cultural ties with China.

Representatives of some Culture Cities of East Asia such as Kitakyushu in Japan, and Sunchon in South Korea congratulated the opening of Culture City of East Asia 2021 in Shaoxing. They also voiced support for the cultural exchange activities to be held in Shaoxing.

Attendees of the opening ceremony for Culture City of East Asia 2021 visit the Memorial Hall of Yu the Great, an important cultural venue in Shaoxing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On the same day, a launch ceremony for the work system to serve intercultural communication between Culture Cities of East Asia was held in Shaoxing. The work system is expected to foster the formation of the future Culture City of East Asia Alliance.

Shaoxing is dubbed "a museum without walls" as it holds many cultural relics and historic landmarks such as the Mausoleum of Yu the Great and the Luxun Native Place.

The city has 14 sister cities in Japan and South Korea and the number of Japanese and South Korean enterprises in Shaoxing ranks high in China, according to official data.