A seagull flies over the huge billboard outside Helsinki Music Centre.

 “Discover China – Hunan Culture Expo in Finland”

 Helsinki Music Centre (Finnish: Musiikkitalo), Finland

 Staff are busy preparing for the show.

    The audience may have a chance to view exquisite Hunan embroidery, Liling porcelain, Tongguan kiln, and daqiuni ceramics; enjoy the charms of intangible cultural heritage items such as Tujia brocade, Miao embroidery, and Miao silver accessories; watch contemporary well-known Hunan artists’ works and Hunan publications; and, enjoy cultural presentations of making clay figures, playing erhu, guqin, and guzheng, and original acrobatics drama “Dreamy Travel” and other performances. They may also try embroidery themselves and taste dark tea.
 
    The event was organized by the State Council Information Office and the Chinese Embassy in Finland, and undertaken by the Hunan Provincial People’s Government Information Office, the Hunan Culture Department, the Hunan Provincial People’s Government Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, the Hunan Daily Group, the Hunan Broadcasting System, the Hunan Publishing Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., and the Hunan Performance Group. Changsha and Zhuzhou municipal information offices, Hunan Embroidery Research Institute, and Hunan Agricultural Industrial Park in Northern Europe assisted the event. Global Time Group and Central South International Exhibition Co., Ltd. were responsible for executive affairs.
 
    Background Information
    Finland and China enjoy profound long-term friendship. Finland is one of the earliest western countries to establish diplomatic relations with China, and the first western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China. The year 2017 marks its centennial independence day.