Culture Minister Lina Mendoni is on an official visit to China in order to expand cultural cooperation between the two countries and to attend the inauguration of the exhibition "Daedalus, Legends of Crete", organized by the Archaeological Museum of Iraklion in cooperation with the Palace Museum in Beijing, on the occasion of the Chinese museum's centennial.
According to a Ministry of Culture statement, Mendoni held a work meeting with Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), under which is the Chinese School of Classical Studies in Athens, overseen by the Culture Ministry. The two officials discussed the start of the School's activities, in the framework of the regulations of archaeological law, with a special mention of the first international conference held by the School on the study of Homeric epics. This latter had been attended by the Greek Culture Ministry's Secretary General and the vice president of CASS, Peng Jinhui.
Among other meetings to discuss collaborations between Greece and China, Mendoni also held a work meeting in Xi'an -the first city on the ancient silk road path - with alternate governor of Shaanxi region, Xu Mingfei, responsible for issues of culture and cultural heritage. The Greek minister also paid a visit to Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, listed on UNESCO's catalog of World Heritage sites and known for the impressive Clay Army. At the archaeological area of Taiping Heritage Site, Mendoni spoke with excavation director Han Jianhua.