A Chinese art exhibition featuring the thousand-year-old mural artworks of Dunhuang in northwest China's Gansu Province opened Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city.
Attending the opening ceremony of the "Soaring through the Sky" Dunhuang Art Exhibition were over 100 people, including Chinese Consul General in Auckland Chen Shijie, Mayor of Auckland Wayne Brown, New Zealand China friendship advocates, art lovers and media representatives.
The attending New Zealand guests spoke highly of the artistic and historical value of Dunhuang culture, highlighted the important and positive role of Chinese culture in the development and progress of the world, and offered to promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields in pursuit of the further development of bilateral relations.
Local art groups presented dance and folk music performances at the opening ceremony.
The exhibition is organized by China's Dunhuang Academy and co-organized by the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland and China Cultural Center in Auckland.
The exhibition will run until March 23.
The Dunhuang murals are among the most celebrated artistic legacies of ancient China, housed in the Mogao Caves, near the city of Dunhuang. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mogao Caves are home to 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,400 painted sculptures housed in 735 caves built from the 4th to 14th centuries. The murals are a vivid representation of the artistic, religious, and cultural exchanges that occurred along the Old Silk Road.
Chinese art exhibition opens in Auckland, New Zealand
China's coal production of enterprises above the designated size reached 4.83 billion tonnes in 2025, up 1.2 percent year on year and marking a new historical high, according to the China National Coal Association.
As the cornerstone of the country's energy security, coal output maintained steady growth throughout the year in 2025, providing strong support for stable energy supply.
Four major coal-producing regions -- Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang -- accounted for about 82 percent of national output in the past year, with their outbound shipments made up more than 95 percent of China's inter-provincial coal transfers, playing a critical role in ensuring reliable and stable coal supply nationwide.
Since the onset of winter, the demand for coal has climbed up as energy consumption for heating continues to increase. To cope with the seasonal surge, railway authorities across the country have optimized transport planning and dispatching to ensure smooth coal deliveries during the peak consumption period.
"China's national coal output has continued to show stable growth since winter began. In December alone, raw coal production of enterprises above the designated size reached 440 million tonnes, with average daily output of 14.1 million tonnes, remaining at a historical high. Coal production has increased steadily, while inventory levels have also stayed at a high level," said Zhang Hong, vice president of the China National Coal Association.
Industrial enterprises above designated size refer to those with an annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan (about 2.87 million U.S. dollars) or more.
China's 2025 coal production reaches 4.83 bln tonnes, up 1.2 pct
