你们也知道，北京奥林匹克运动会更是一个展示中国过去，现今以及未来的空前机会。就在短短几个月之后，全世界将聚焦中国，大家通过手提电脑，电视和智能手机观看全世界最伟大的运动比赛，还可以做很多很多的事情。他们很多人将第一次看到中国的神奇和精彩。我希望这样一个和平精彩的奥运会能够让世界上更多的人了解一个真实的、独特的中国。

上个月，中国驻英大使在《人民日报》中这样写到：“全世界都在等待着中国的加入，现在中国须有耐心去等待世界去了解中国。”中国还有很多有待于外界来了解，包括它的历史，艺术，宗教，政治体系等等。即使在科技和互联网的帮助下，世界仍然需要相当一段时间去探索才能了解这个伟大的国家。我非常感谢在座每一位，对我们开展这种探索给给予的帮助，以及对通过音乐，艺术，语言，电影和创意等途径持续进行的文化交流活动的支持。

我祝愿这次文博会取得巨大的成功，非常感谢你们的邀请。

Speech by Gary Locke, formor governor of the State of Washington, the USA

Thank you very much for the honor of being here for the Shenzhen International Cultural Industries Fair.   I am very proud to participate in strengthening the exchange and understanding of Chinese culture here and throughout the world.  

I extend my appreciation for this honor to  the Ministry of Culture…..the Ministry of Commerce….the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television….the General Administration of Press and Publication….the Guangdong Provincial People's Government…..and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government. 

My grandfather and father are from Taishan, here in the province of Guangdong.  So it is a very special honor to return to my family’s ancestral home for this celebration of Chinese culture.
All one must do is take a fleeting look at world history to be reminded of China’s rich culture and our many proud contributions to civilization over the centuries.

In the arts, there is the highly appreciated Chinese calligraphy and painting, where ink brushed gracefully on silk captures the language, lives and landscapes of China’s four-thousand-year history.

The early imperial Chinese perfected the art of porcelain so much that in English, the word “china” is synonymous for the world’s finest pottery. 

Chinese architecture is founded on the doctrine of balance and symmetry.  It evokes images of stately, colorful palaces and pagodas with beautifully curved and layered roofs and open courtyards.  There is no other place in the world where the architecture so strongly captures a culture’s principles, aesthetics and values.  

Those values, of course, reflect the philosophies and religions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.  These teachings had a profound influence on world history.  And they continue to do so today, as China’s world prominence draws more and more people to study the Confucian concepts of ritualism, relationships and humanity.

There are also the world-changing Chinese inventions and innovations, too numerous to count.  There’s the abacus and the seismograph, silk and cast iron, the compass and the clock, gunpowder and fireworks, paper and the printing press, and so many more.

And, perhaps most importantly, there are the timeless values of family and honor and respect and loyalty that are so central to the Chinese way of life.

Chinese culture is a source of great national pride.  Capturing the country’s rich history and the wisdom of the Chinese people, your culture is your greatest contribution to the world over.  

It is also undoubtedly your country’s strongest asset as you move toward even greater economic reform and opening to the world.

As President Hu Jintao said last fall to the National Congress of the Communist Party:

“Culture has become a more and more important source of national cohesion and creativity and a factor of growing significance in the competition in overall national strength.”

Further, President Hu expressed the country’s need to enhance culture as part of the “soft power” of China to better guarantee the people’s basic cultural rights and interests.