A Chinese cultural festival in Iran has opened at the Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Monday. The one-week event, titled ‘2016 Experience China in Iran,’ will spotlight northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through a photo exhibition and other cultural activities.

More than 500 Iranian officials, foreign diplomats, representatives of Chinese enterprises in Iran as well as local students and artists attended the opening ceremony.

Cui Yuying, Vice Minister of Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China and deputy director of China’s State Council Information Office, reads the congratulatory letter of Yu Zhengsheng, CPPCC Chairman and member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and delivers a speech in Tehran, Iran, at the opening ceremony of the cultural festival “2016 Experience China in Iran-Cultural Exploration of Western China” featuring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on August 22, 2016. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

The exhibition centers around the history, culture and landscape of China’s northwest autonomous region. It aims to help Iranian people know more about Xinjiang and get a sense of the diverse culture in China. It runs through August 28 and will showcase Xinjiang’s music and dance, traditional costumes and other cultural heritages, in addition to tourist attraction sites.

Pang Sen, Chinese Ambassador to Iran, delivers a speech in Tehran, Iran, at the opening ceremony of the cultural festival “2016 Experience China in Iran-Cultural Exploration of Western China” featuring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on August 22, 2016. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]