The Russia Inner Mongolia Culture Week, a celebration of the 65th anniversary of China-Russia relations, scheduled from Oct 27 to 31 concluded in Irkutsk Oblast successfully, following its stop in the Republic of Buryatia’s Ulan-Ude.

The exchange among the media from China and Russia, though a new cultural exchange field for locals from both sides, was a highlight of the culture week. A cooperation letter of intent was signed between the Information Office of Inner Mongolia and the President Office of Buryatia, which will create more cooperation opportunities for media. Also, mainstream media from Inner Mongolia have reached cooperation agreements with some of its peers in Russia.

As an envoy for cultural exchange, art played an important role in the culture week. The artists from Inner Mongolia presented some fantastic performances for the audience. “We all grew up to the melodies of the matouqin; we feel close to each other,” said an audience member.

As one of the culture week’s achievements, a section featuring Inner Mongolia culture and showcasing Inner Mongolia to readers was set up in the Buryatia Library and Irkutsk Library separately. The autonomous region has presented 2,000 volumes of books to each of the two libraries, including some tool books in Mongolian and Chinese-Russian bilingual books.

Traditional Mongolian medicine has over 2,000 years of history in China and is known as a significant cultural heritage for the Mongolian ethnic group. It also enjoys wide popularity in some areas in the Republic of Buryatia for similar climate, ethnicity and traditional customs. During the culture week, experts from Inner Mongolia gave two lectures on Mongolian medicine. In addition, the two sides will cooperate in the fields of Mongolian medicine cultivation and medicine R&D.

A positive process was also achieved in education exchange. There were six universities and college delegations participating in the culture week, and all of them reached cooperation intentions with local universities in Russia. As soon as the cooperation details were defined, these universities will reach agreements on joint education, exchange student programs, young teacher cultivation, and academic and research cooperation.

Culture is an important cooperation field between China and Russia, as well as the two countries’ locals. It is significant to strengthening communication and friendship between the two countries. This year’s Russia Inner Mongolia Culture Week seeks to showcase unique grassland culture from Inner Mongolia to Russian people, said by Guo Zhijun, consul general of China at Irkutsk Oblast.

Edited by Michael Thai