An international sculpture show featuring 242 sculptures from around the world opened Saturday at the Beijing International Sculpture Park.
Among those attending today's opening ceremony were Jia Qinglin, Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Liu Qi, Mayor of Beijing.
The 242 sculptures on display were selected from 2,400 applications sent from 62 countries and regions in response to the invitations sent by the organizing committee last February.
The show aims to enhance exchanges between sculptors of China and other countries, said Yu Huayun, director the Beijing Municipal Sculpture Building and Management Office.
Street sculpture was introduced to China in the 1990s. The first sculpture contest in China was held in Weihai City in east China's Shandong Province in 1993. Beijing has held five sculpture shows since 1997.
(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2002)