The Foreign Affairs Office of Nanjing Municipal People’s Government recently invited sculptors from international friendship cities to visit Nanjing, in a bid to further push forward the construction of the Phase II sculpture project in Nanjing International Friendship Park and turn it into the one that integrates international cooperation, friendship-city exchanges, city promotion and citizen participation.
On September 3-5, these artists paid visits to the Nanjing Construction Planning Exhibition Hall, Taicheng Wall, Xiaoling Mausoleum, Grand Baoen Temple, Nanjing Yunjin Museum, Jiangbei New Area, Jiangning District and more. The field visits, discussions and exchanges enabled them to have a deep understanding of Nanjing’s historical heritage, cultural atmosphere and urban characteristics and further increase the inspiration and connotation of sculptures in the international friendship cities.
The artists inspected the site in Nanjing International Friendship Park and discussed how to integrate sculptures into the design blueprint of urban parks to make them carriers of cultural blending and emotional connection. They offered their opinions on the integration of sculptures with the environment, the size and materials of the works, and interactions with visitors, and expressed their views on the cooperation between Nanjing and the international friendship cities.
In recent years, Nanjing, riding on the construction of Nanjing International Friendship Park, exhibited and introduced the natural scenery, local customs and cultural characteristics of the friendship cities, making it a window for Nanjing citizens to understand the friendship cities and an important platform to showcase the cities. In the past few years, approximately ten sculptures created by these cities’ artists following their visits in Nanjing were installed in the city, which are very popular among its citizens and tourists.