A visiting Saudi delegation has recently made much high comment on the China Pavilion at the ongoing Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan, saying it was amazed by the delicate design of the exhibition venue and China's millenniums old cultural heritage.
The delegation's visit on June 18 coincided with "Hubei Week," during which a replica of the Zenghouyi Chime Bells performed "Ode to Joy", resonating throughout the exhibition hall.
The original set of Zenghouyi Chime Bells, with a history of more than 2,400 years, was unearthed in 1978 in central China's Hubei Province.
Leading the visiting delegation, H.R.H. (His Royal Highness) Prince Turki Al Saud tried playing the bronze chime bells and said the visit impressed him with remarkable cultural heritage passed on from generations of Chinese throughout the country's millenniums old history.
The 2,400-year-old set of bronze chime bells has recently been inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
Dubbed the world's first "sound-producing music textbook," it was widely considered as one of China's national treasures.
Since its opening, the China Pavilion has successfully hosted a series of regional events such as Sichuan, Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Hainan Weeks, and themed cultural events featuring Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera, and the 24 solar terms of Traditional Chinese Calendar.
The events, covering cultural exhibitions, science and technology exchanges, and industrial cooperation, have been well received by audiences and participants, receiving wide appreciation.
Themed "Designing the Future Society of Our Lives," the World Expo 2025 runs in Osaka, Japan's third-largest city, from April 13 to Oct 13. Saudi Arabia will host World Expo 2030 in Riyadh, which is scheduled to run from October 2030 to March 2031.
Saudi delegation visits China Pavilion at Osaka World Expo
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
