The Shandong Provincial Tourism Bureau held an art exhibition in Tokyo Midtown, Japan, on Jan 21, aiming to showcase Shandong province's hospitality and rich tourism resources. The exhibition ran until Jan 24.

The exhibition displayed a total of 105 pictures, which depict various cultural relics collected by the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu City. The mansion is the historical residence of the direct descendants of Confucius.

The cultural relics, including paintings, works of calligraphy, antiques and ancient Chinese clothes, attracted a large number of local Japanese visitors curious about Chinese culture.

Sun Shue, deputy head of the Shandong Provincial Tourism Bureau, gave a speech at the opening ceremony for the exhibition. She said that Shandong province, the birthplace of Confucius and Confucianism, has a profound historical background.

"It's a popular tourist destination worth visiting. The exhibition is an opportunity for Shandong to introduce its hospitality culture to Japanese people," Sun said.

Currently, the Kong Family Mansion is a museum and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Temple, Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu". It is open for tourists from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from April to June and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from July to October. A single person entry fee costs 60 yuan ($9.12) during peak season from Feb 16 to Nov 14 and 50 yuan during the off season from Nov 15 to Feb 15.

Tokyo Midtown is a 569,000-square-meter mixed-use development in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan. It cost three billion dollars and was completed in March 2007. It includes office, residential, commercial, hotel, leisure space and the new quarters of the Suntory Museum of Art.

Edited by Owen Fishwick

Sun Shue, deputy head of the Shandong Provincial Tourism Bureau, gives a speech at the opening ceremony for the photo exhibition held in Tokyo Midtown, Japan, on Jan 21. [Photo/sdta.gov.cn]

Some art work exhibited in Tokyo Midtown, Japan, on Jan 21 [Photo/rbzwdb.com]