An Exhibition of Traditional Chinese Toys opens Sunday, December 31, at the rostrum of Duanmen inside the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Titled "Beijing Exhibition of Traditional and Developmental Toys," the exhibition will display a variety of traditional Chinese toys, such as kites, shadow play, clay figures, tangrams, interlocked rings, and straw plaited articles.

In addition, a few interesting games and teaching programs involving toys will also be performed at the show.

" We see this exhibition not only as a kind of entertainment, but also as a form of education," said Liu Yan, secretary-general of Beijing Toy Association.

"The traditional toys well reflect the intelligence of our ancestors, and we hope this exhibition could make people know more about our traditional folklore and culture," Liu stressed.

Vladimir Zakharov, cultural counselor at Russian Embassy to China, said, " What attractive performances today, these traditional toys are really an art of great vitality."

He Luli, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of Chinese National People's Congress, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition which is expected to last till the middle of March, 2001.

(People’s Daily 12/31/2000)