Encounter with Chinese Civilization event held in E China's Suzhou

A cultural exchange event titled "An Encounter with the Chinese Civilization: Suzhou's South of Yangtze Culture and Chinese Modernization" was held at the Lion Grove Garden, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.

"An Encounter with the Chinese Civilization" is a series of themed cultural exchange activities created by the World Affairs Press for the global youth. 

The Suzhou event, fifth in the series, also had sub-venues in six cities of the UK and France. More than 300 young British and French students and friendly personages from all walks of life attended the event both online and offline. They experienced the development of history and culture of the area south of the Yangtze River as well as the development and achievements of Suzhou in the new era.

Under the guidance of Prof. Yang Xuhui from Soochow University, young people from abroad witnessed and learned about the pavilions and halls of the Lion Grove Garden via livestream. It was Bei Runsheng, an uncle of the renowned Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, who had bought the Lion Grove Garden and decorated it with colored glass from Europe and America. Pei, who designed the Louvre's glass pyramid in Paris, once lived in the garden and drew inspiration from classical gardens.