Chinese Language Day celebrations kick off at UN Vienna

A series of celebrations kicked off at the UN family in Vienna on Monday to mark the United Nations Chinese Language Day.

More than 600 people, including representatives of Vienna-based international organizations, diplomats and UN employees, attended the grand opening ceremony at the Vienna International Center.

This year's Chinese Language Day celebration, themed "Diverse Cultures and Romantic Scenery," features a spate of exhibitions on south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a border region often dubbed as China's gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

The exhibits include the region's traditional cultural products, ethnic costumes and photos showcasing its renowned landmarks and achievements in cooperation with ASEAN countries.

At the ceremony, Li Song, China's permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, said the Chinese language is a long-standing cultural bond, and it will help carry forward the Chinese civilization and the world civilization toward a shared future.

Li said this year's Chinese Language Day events will use Guangxi as an example to tell the story of Chinese civilization and development, showcase colorful and vivid Chinese culture and the achievement of mutual learning and development cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Representatives of UN Vienna organizations also said at the opening ceremony that Chinese, as one of the six official languages of the UN, plays an important role in promoting the cause of the UN and international exchanges and cooperation.

At Monday's opening ceremony, artists from Guangxi staged folk music and dance performances and ethnic costume shows, which drew rounds of applause from the audience.

This year's Chinese Language Day celebration at the UN Vienna, which will run until Thursday, is jointly hosted by China's permanent mission to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, the Guangxi regional government and the UN Information Service in Vienna.

The UN observes the Chinese Language Day on April 20 annually to promote multilingualism, cultural diversity, and the use of Chinese as one of the organization's six official languages.

Chinese Language Day celebrations kick off at UN Vienna

The Miraikan Museum in Tokyo, Japan, is hosting an aging-themed exhibition that offers young people a simulated experience of how the human body changes with age.

The exhibition, Park of Age, is split into four interactive areas where visitors can experience the changes aging brings to their visual, auditory, motor skills and brain through interactive games.

In one game, participants can experience the challenges of judging objects with vision loss as they age. Another game called Nucopol simulates the effects of cataracts on color vision, resulting in difficulties in judging colors.

A unique feature in the brain aging experience area is a self-service camera that allows participants to see how elderly people may struggle to understand expressions like anger, sadness, and fear. Through these games, visitors can grasp the mechanisms of human aging and reflect on how they interact with the elderly and envision their own future.

The Park of Age exhibition, part of Miraikan's three permanent exhibits themed Create Your Future, is one of 22 exhibitions grouped under those three main themes, with the other two being Explore the Frontiers and Discover Your Earth.

"I take him to this exhibition related to robotics today. But he's not school age yet, so hopefully he'll find something here that interests him," said a mother.

"The emphasis in school is on basic theory. Much of what is on display here is practical science that can be applied to life. It gave me inspiration on my own research as well," said a student.

According to the museum staff, nearly half of the visitors are under 18, with high school students making up 17 percent of that group. As an off-campus learning venue, Miraikan also collaborates with local schools, inviting teachers to contribute to exhibition planning to align with students' actual needs and interests.

"Through physical display and interactive experience, students can get a new scientific experience different from classroom teaching, which is the biggest feature of our Miraikan science museum exhibition," said Ito Yoichi, deputy director of the museum.

Tokyo science museum holds aging experience exhibition