Monaco expo to enlighten Chinese

Tiny European principality to display its greatest national treasure - the throne of its ruling prince

The greatest national treasure of the principality of Monaco is preparing to leave for the Middle Kingdom for its first-ever display in China.

In the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the throne of the Prince of Monaco, beneath a red silk canopy with a gilt crown, has witnessed state ceremonies of the more than 700-year reign of the Grimaldi dynasty.

Out of the country for the first time, it is listed among the nearly 300 exhibits for the exhibition Prince and Princesses of Monaco: A European Dynasty (13th-21st Century), in the Forbidden City in Beijing from Sept 7 to Nov 11.

The exhibition will also feature the personal art collection of Prince Albert II of Monaco, which will also be outside Monaco for the first time and reflects the passion for art that runs in the Grimaldi family.

Thomas Fouilleron, curator from the Prince's Palace in Monaco and also the exhibition curator, says that in two spaces in the Forbidden City exhibition - the Meridian Gate and the East Yanchi building - royal items and some of the principality's art collections will be arranged in one area in the same way as in the palace, while in the other area, the precious jewels and tiaras that make Monaco's royal weddings come alive will be displayed.

"The huge exhibition will make Chinese people learn more about Monaco, its origin and roots," says Catherine Fautrier, Monaco's ambassador to China.

Monaco, a constitutional monarchy, is on the French Riviera in Western Europe, with an area of around 2 square kilometers. It is known as the world's second-smallest state (after the Vatican). For many Chinese, it is often mistaken for Morocco, because of the similarity of their Chinese names and the latter's fame resulting from the film Casablanca.

Lu Yuan, chief producer of Hantang Culture, who has led crews filming in the country since 2007, says that after visiting Monaco several times, he believes the country's big attraction lies in its well-preserved royal traditions, including lifestyles and heritages.

"Monaco borders France on its three sides and is in close relations with Europe, so it offers a lens to the understanding of European culture," Lu says.

Fautrier describes Monaco as "traditional, multinational and open-minded".

"Monaco's DNA has always been open to other cultures," she adds. "A lot of foreign people are living there, with more than 120 nationalities. Different culture is in our culture. "

Cultural diversification is also the country's approach to collaboration and exchanges. Entities such as the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and Ballets de Monte Carlo have toured China several times and have been well received.

"Culture and arts are the easy way to make people connected together," Fautrier says. "Even though they don't speak the same language, people can share experiences and understand each other easily through paintings, dances and music."

She says that when viewing Chinese traditional paintings with poetry, "Even if I can't read Chinese, listening to the explanations on what the poet wants to display in the painting is really something beautiful."

Last year, an exhibition about the Forbidden City went to Monaco. "It was a great success. People in Monaco are very interested in the Chinese culture, because they don't know much about it. It is the third exhibition we have had about Chinese culture," Fautrier says. "People in Monaco and around, like France and Italy, came all the way for it.

"Now more and more children choose Chinese at schools. Maybe it's due to all these cultural exchanges that they want to learn more," she adds.

In Monaco's public schools, children can learn Chinese starting at around 12 years old - from the first year of middle school to the end of high school.

Unlike Italian or Spanish, which they can readily understand, Chinese is totally different and difficult. "They choose it because they are really interested in learning more about the language," Fautrier says.

"Sometimes it is really fun to see little children want to talk with Chinese tourists. I think people from China like that also."

Fautrier is Monaco's third ambassador to China. In 2010, she visited China during her first trip to Asia, when she led the team for the Monaco Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. But she says her first encounter with Chinese culture was far earlier, in her childhood.

Every year Monaco has international circus festivals, and "there are a lot Chinese acrobats and they win awards", she says. "As a kid, I learned about the culture and that's also maybe why kids now are more and more interested."

Culture and environmental protection are important areas in which China and Monaco have close collaboration, Fautrier says.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, established in 2006, began collaborating a couple of years ago with the World Wide Fund for Nature in China to protect the Siberian tiger, an endangered species in northeastern China's Changbai Mountains.

China and Monaco established diplomatic relations in 1995. "We started from nothing, and every year we are building something together. For other countries, that's nothing in terms of numbers. But for a small country, it is a lot," Fautrier says.

"China is a very big country, while Monaco is pretty small. We've found places we can have collaboration together, where both sides found common interests and shared experience together," she says, describing the relationship with China as well balanced.

In 2010 at the Shanghai Expo, there were only a few items showcasing Monaco's culture and history at the Monaco Pavilion, and this year, a big show will open the imagination of Chinese about the country.

"I hope people will have a better understanding of the country," she says. "We are not just beaches and casinos."

lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/27/2018 page19)