Beijing Chateau Laffitte

More than 20 French castles and castle museum will demonstrate their world-class artistic treasures in China for the first time. This European Castle's Culture and Arts Exhibition will be held in Beijing Chateau Laffitte from May 26th to July 28th, 2007. More than 200 articles are all from ancient castles and castle-museums established during 12th to 19th century.

Classic oil paintings, tapestry, porcelains, jewelry and classic furniture are available for visitors. During the exhibition, more than 10 French artists of traditional art-crafts will show their skills of painting, tapestry netting, bronze casting and carving.

Mr. Zhang Yuchen and his wife Mrs. Zhou Jianmin, the owner of Beijing Chateau Laffitte and the sponsors of the exhibition, will host a grand French Royal Banquet in an effort to invite the celebrities who will taste the genuine French cuisine prepared by French chefs around the end of July 2007. Prince Louis de Bourbon and his wife Mary Margarette, successor of the royal family, will come to preside over the banquet.

ZhangYuchen, followed by foreign media with strong passion, together with his wife, zhou Jianmin, initiated this exhibition to show their love for French culture.

Zhang started to learn and became interested in French culture by reading a lot of French literature by Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Gustave Flaubert. He made up his mind to build a French chateau in Beijing when he set his feet for the first time on the soil of French capital of arts in 2001.

In 2004, he built his 300-hectare Beijing Chateau Laffitte along Wenyu River in Beijing's suburb. The chateau absorbs the architecture of Chateau Vaux Le Vicomte, Chateau Masion Laffittem and Chateau de Fontainebleau, sharing the style of Baroque of the European Renaissance.

(China.org.cn April 20, 2007)