Yoghurt, the oil yielding rose, motifs from Chiprovtsi rugs - the symbols of Bulgaria,  have become increasingly known in China in the recent years. Cultural and trade contacts have been intensified owing in the first place to the work of this country's General Consular Office in Shanghai. For the first time this year it organized days of Bulgarian Culture in the 20-million strong city. Part of the program is the exhibition Symbols of the Bulgarian Identity which opened on 13 June at Shanghai's Central Library. More about the string of events from Dimitar Abadzhiev, Bulgaria's General Consul in Shanghai:

“On the occasion of 24 May, the Day of the Slavonic Alphabet and Bulgarian Education and Culture the General Consulate launched two special events. One of them was a concert of world-acclaimed Bulgarian pianist Ivan Yanakov held on 7 June in a packed hall. The second event was the exhibition of the association Spiritual Mirror with paintings by children from the schools of art in Sevlievo, Chiprovtsi and Kurtovo Konare. The exhibition is unique because artworks combine painting with motifs and techniques used to make the celebrated Chiprovtsi rugs.”

Dimitar Abadzhiev points out that Bulgaria should address potential Chinese tourists with stories about its culture, history, traditions and nature. Financing for the exhibition and the trip of participating children has been provided by the Bulgarian Maritime Fleet and by Chinese companies interested in trade cooperation with Bulgaria.

In the recent year, political, trade and cultural contacts of Bulgaria with the Shanghai region of China have intensified. Various inter-company, trade and academic agreements for cooperation have been signed. Many presentations have been made to feature opportunities for investments in Bulgaria. In the spring a booth selling Bulgarian goods opened in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone where a festival of the rose was held, explains the consul:

“Following the visit of the Bulgarian prime minister to Shanghai in late 2015, relations between Bulgaria and China have intensified. We succeeded in starting cooperation with East China Normal University. A Bulgarian center opened at Jiao Tong University for agricultural projects and developing strains of the Bulgarian bacterium used to make healthy yoghurt. In this way we attracted the attention of the government of Shanghai and several delegations in agriculture and urban planning visited Bulgaria. These are areas seeing strong investor interest from China”, Consul Dimitar Abadzhiev said.

We go on promoting contacts and we believe that Bulgaria stands good chances of becoming the gate to Europe of the new Silk Road, he added. Earlier this year in Shanghai, a transport agreement was signed for the Zhengzhou-Burgas line, a key section of the Silk Road. Burgas will be the first European city part of it and a starting point to Hamburg.

English Daniela Konstantinova