A Chinese classical porcelain exhibition opened Tuesday at the State Tretaykov Gallery in Moscow.

"China is the home of porcelain. Chinese porcelain began to be world-renowned as 'white gold' from as early as the ninth century," Meng Xiaosi, Chinese Vice Minister of Culture, said at the opening ceremony.

This exhibit is the first of a number of major exhibitions to be on display in Russia, and the first of a series of cultural festivals in the Year of China, through which, the Russian people will know more about Chinese culture and feel more about the friendship from the Chinese people, Meng said.

According to Wang Tianxing, deputy director general of the culture department of Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen, a city of Jiangxi, is a historic place famous for its porcelain technique. Jingdezhen porcelain, which is "as white as jade, as thin as paper, as clear as mirror and as musical as stone," represents the best part of China's ceramic culture.

The exhibit comprises 119 pieces of fine porcelain selected from the Jiangxi provincial museum and the Jingdezhen ceramics house made in different eras.

The Year of China in Russia will stage some 200 activities on politics, economy, science, technology and culture. As an important part of the theme year, the "Chinese culture festival," lasting from the end of March till next January, will depict an image of China, which is not only ancient and peaceful, but also modern and colorful.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2007)