Witness the lasting friendship between China and France

The indissoluble bond between Fuzhou and France

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. The Sino French Cultural Spring Project, which was founded in 2006, was first launched in Fuzhou this year. On May 5, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Sino French Cultural Spring in South China was held in Fuzhou, pushing Fuzhou to the forefront of Sino French cultural exchanges.

So, what are the intersections between Fuzhou and France in history, and what are the exchanges and cooperation between Fuzhou and France now?

Three Frenchmen Influencing Fuzhou

Fuzhou, as an important city in China's modern transformation, is one of the ties between Chinese and foreign civilizations. During this period, three Frenchmen had an indissoluble bond with Fuzhou.

Ship administration supervisor Riyige

In 1867, the shipping school was built and put into use in Mawei. Zuo Zongtang, the founder of the Ship Administration School, envisioned realizing the dream of strengthening the navy by means of Sino Western cooperation, and hired Riyige and Dekebei, French naval officers he knew and trusted, as the chief and deputy supervisors of the ship administration.

From February to August 1867, Japan, Italy and Georgia purchased machinery and equipment and hired foreign technicians for the shipping administration in France. At the same time, Japan, Italy and Georgia tried their best to promote the shipping administration plan in France to strengthen the trust and cooperation between China and France, win the support of King Napoleon III of France and the French navy, and achieved success, which helped the French government and its technical forces support Zuo Zongtang.

On October 6, 1867, the first batch of French technicians and their family members followed Riyige to Mawei, Fuzhou, and then foreign technicians arrived successively, totaling 45.

From December 1866 to 1874, Japan, Italy and Georgia fulfilled the contract with the ship administration, and with the efforts of foreign technicians and all Chinese workers, they built 15 steam powered ships, including China's first 1000 ton steam powered gunship, "Wannian Qing", and Asia's first cruiser, "Yangwu".

Riyige led and urged the French technical team to teach the Chinese people unreservedly their naval knowledge and ship building skills.

Riyige also promoted China to launch the public student study program in Europe, which benefited the famous translator Yan Fu and diplomat Chen Jitong.

Agronomist Eugene Simon

Eugene Simon, a French agronomist, published the book "Chinese Cities" in 1885, to show his keen observation of Fuzhou and let the western groups see China from a new perspective.

Simon learned about the state of agriculture in Fuzhou and introduced this place to readers through his fieldwork on agriculture and tea in the suburbs of Fuzhou.

He also emphasized the potential of Chinese society in his book, which formed a strong contrast with the weak China described in most books at that time.

Diplomat Paul Klodel

Paul Claudel, a famous French writer and diplomat, served in Fuzhou for many years.

During his stay in Fuzhou, Paul Klodel created such works as Understanding the East, The Art of Poetry, and The Boundary of Noon. In The Art of Poetry, he put forward a concept: combining the French words naissance and connaissance into one word co naissance, which means that by knowing Fuzhou, the poet himself has re understood himself and experienced rebirth.

In the 1890s, the shipping administration was ready to start a new round of technical learning and innovation. As an important matchmaker and promoter, Paul Cloudel facilitated the French naval engineer Duyere's technical team to come to China, starting the second Sino French technical cooperation in the history of shipping administration.

Frequent exchanges in the new century

Entering the new century, Fuzhou and France have frequent exchanges and achieved good results.

Dunkirk is the third largest port city in France. In 2016, Fuzhou and Dunkirk City Community established friendly exchange relations, and the two sides carried out a series of exchanges in high-level visits, trade, culture and other fields. In 2017, the chairman of Dunkirk Urban Community led a delegation to visit Rongrong to promote cooperation in economy, urban construction, port and other aspects. In 2018, the foreign affairs brand activity "Fuzhou Day" entered Dunkirk, and the two sides actively carried out economic, trade, cultural and other exchanges and project docking. From 2017 to 2019, Dunkirk actively participated in relevant activities of the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee. Both Fuzhou and Dunkirk have large ports, both of which focus on the development of marine economy and logistics industry. Now many container freighters travel between Dunkirk and Fuzhou's large ports, making contributions to the trade between the two places and even between the two countries.

In 2014, the then French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius presented a Riyige statue to the Fuzhou Municipal Government and placed it in the China Shipping Culture Museum; In June 2014, the China Shipping Culture Museum held a special exhibition "Fuzhou Story" in Saint Nazaire, France, to promote the shipping culture, Fuzhou history and Chinese culture; In December 2016, the special exhibition "A Frenchman's Chinese Dream" was held in Mawei, telling the story of "chasing dreams, seeking dreams and realizing dreams" in Japanese Italian style.

In February 2014, Laurent Fabius, the then French Foreign Minister, and Zhang Tianfu, the tea industry magnate, jointly inaugurated the first "China Europe Cultural Salon" in Fuzhou.

France has always been associated with "romance", so French is also known as the most romantic and beautiful language in the world. In 2013, the 5th Sino French Education Quality Inspection Seminar was held in Paris. Fuzhou Foreign Language School is the only middle school recommended by the Ministry of Education of China for experience exchange of "diversified and international school running mode". In 2014, the Ministry of Education approved Fuzhou Foreign Language School as the pilot school of the "Chinese French International Curriculum" project. In that year, the first French class of the school was open to the whole city. In 2015, Fuzhou Foreign Language School and Le Brun Middle School in Normandy, France formed a sister school to build a platform for the two schools to jointly run schools and cultural exchanges between China and France. Today, the two schools have close exchanges and frequent mutual visits between teachers and students.

In October 2016, Fuzhou CIIC Visa France Reception Center officially accepted visas to France, and Chinese tourists can submit applications to France in Fuzhou nearby.

In addition, Fuzhou has frequent trade and exchanges with France. According to incomplete statistics, from January to October 2023, Fuzhou's import and export to France totaled 3.04 billion yuan, including 2.66 billion yuan for export and 380 million yuan for import. By the end of 2023, France has invested in 7 enterprises in Fuzhou, involving manufacturing, accommodation and catering, scientific research and technical services.

Close communication of folk art

Fuzhou and France also have close exchanges in folk art and other aspects.

Guihu Art Museum, the initiator of Fuzhou Station in South China in the Spring of Sino French Culture, has been working with the French Consulate General in Guangzhou and French culture for three consecutive years to bring outstanding French culture and art to Fuzhou. Known as the biggest photography art event in Fuzhou in 2024, three photography art exhibitions will be held in the Straits Culture and Art Center, Yantai Mountain Yuanli, and Guihu Art Museum, which will last until July 30.

At the end of June 2013, the Shoushan Stone Carving Art Exhibition of Chen Lizhong was held at the Chinese Culture Center in Paris, France, where more than 30 stone carvings by Chen Lizhong, a master of Chinese arts and crafts, were exhibited. After watching the art exhibition, Jacques Guiers, then Director of Cultural Affairs of the French Ministry of Culture and Information, sent a letter to praise Chen Lizhong's Shoushan stone carving skills "incomparable and poetic".

In May 2016, the French branch of Chunlun Group was established, Chunlun Tea officially appeared internationally. Today, you can taste Chunlun jasmine tea in both Champs Elysees and Michelin restaurants in France. Among them, in the menu of Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris, France, a cup of jasmine tea costs 28 euros. The tea pot designed by French designers for Chunlun Group is very popular abroad.

Former French President Hollande and President Fabius of the French Constitutional Council have collected the works of Yang Shiying, a famous seal carver in Fuzhou. Yang Shiying was invited to participate in a series of theme activities for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 2014, and designed and engraved a logo for the event. The logo is a rare pure seal cutting work with distinctive Chinese style. Yang Shiying's works also participated in the French New Realism Salon Exhibition in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

As representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations, the exchanges between China and France have always been accompanied by close cultural exchanges and cooperation. The exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations have had a profound impact on the development of each other's nation, country and society. Fuzhou, a historical and cultural city with a history of 2200 years, and France's cooperation and exchanges across time and space have witnessed the enduring friendship between China and France.