On the morning of April 25th, Mr. Radoslav Ragac, Director of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Slovak Ministry of Culture, Mr. Peter Barta, Director of the National History Museum, and other department heads responsible for public relations and events received Hu Muqing and his delegation. The two sides discussed the details of the "International Tour of Chinese Traditional Fine Arts - Bratislava Station" to be held at the Slovak National History Museum in October this year.

Bratislava Castle

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of sister city relations between Shanghai and Bratislava, the Chinese Embassy in Slovakia held a promotion event called "Shanghai, Pearl of the Orient". Mr Hu introduced the cultural exchange between the Shanghai Art Collection Museum and Slovakia in recent years during the event.

招待会贵客云集

On April 26th, the government of Bratislava arranged for the arrival of the delegation. Led by Ambassador Sun Lijie, the delegation visited Redstone Castle with relevant personnel from the consulate's political office. 

On the morning of April 27th, the signing ceremony for the "International Tour of Traditional Chinese Art - Bratislava Station" between the Shanghai Art Collection Museum and the Slovak National Museum was held. Panis Branislav, General Director of the Slovak National Museum, and Hu Muqing, President of the Shanghai Art Collection Museum, officially signed the cooperation agreement on behalf of both parties. 

On April 28th, the delegation held a working meeting with the the Bodleian Library. Deputy Director Antony Brewerton in charge of academic and collections, Mamtimyn Sunuodula, Director of the East Asian Collections Department, Gillian Evison, Director of the Asian and African Collections Department, and Virginia Llado-Buisan, Director of Heritage Protection and Technology Department, attended the meeting. Both sides reached many agreements on further cooperation in the future.

The delegation visited the Rare Books Restoration Center at the Oxford University Library

The delegation visited the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Oxford. The museum is the first public museum in England and one of the earliest public museums in the world. The delegation had a meeting with Professor Shelagh Vainker, the Chinese art curator at the Ashmolean, to discuss further collaboration between our museum and the Ashmolean.

Following that, the delegation visited the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford for inspection. Professor Ashley Coutu, a history professor and curator gave the delegation a detailed tour of the museum, which features anthropological collections.

On the morning of May 2nd, the delegation was invited to visit the British Library. Xerxes Mazda, Director of Collections and Curation; Luisa Elena Mengoni, Director of Asia and Africa Collections; Hamish Todd, Director of East Asian Collections; Sara Chiesura, Senior Curator of East Asian Collections; Emma Harrison, Curator of Chinese Collections; and Amy Sillmann, Exhibition and Partnership Manager, received the delegation and presented precious original documents. The two sides held talks and conducted in-depth discussions on future joint exhibitions, academic exchange activities, and other aspects.

The delegation viewed precious documents in the collection of the British Library

On the afternoon of May 2nd, the delegation held talks with Mr. Guy Salter, President of London Craft Week and a recipient of the British Imperial Honours and Royal Victorian Order, as well as Ms. Naomi, Executive Director of London Craft Week. Both sides exchanged views on strengthening the interactive cooperation between London Craft Week and events such as the Shanghai International Traditional Art Invitation Exhibition.

On May 3rd, the delegation was invited to visit the Royal Bindery Centre in the UK, a famous bookbinding institution with a century-long history. The delegation visited process of bookbinding and held talks on future cooperation between the two sides.

In the afternoon of May 3rd, the delegation was invited by Paul, Director of Curatorial and Visitor Services of  Shakespeare Centre, to visit Shakespeare's Birthplace.  Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions about future joint exhibitions and academic research cooperation.

On May 4th, the delegation was invited to visit the Christie's auction center. Ms. Kate Hunt, Director of Chinese Works of Art, and Ms. Margaret Ford, Director of Western Manuscripts and a renowned Shakespeare edition expert, received the delegation and introduce the Chinese art auction situation and the ongoing exhibition of rare Shakespearean works.

Kate, Director of Chinese Works of Art, explained Chinese art to the delegation.