ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｃｈｅｎ Ｈａｏｓｕ ａｎｄ Ｈｉｓ Ｐａｒｔｙ Ａｔｔｅｎｄ Ｉｎａｕｇｕｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｂｅｌｌ Ａｒｔ Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｆｒａｎ

At the invitation of the Council of French Mid-Pyrénées Region and the Institute of the European Bell Art (IEBA)， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu led a delegation to visit Toulouse City， capital of Mid-Pyrénées Region from July 8 to 10， and attended the inauguration of the Chinese Bell Art Exhibition and the unveiling ceremony of the China-France Friendship Bell.

The Chinese Bell Art Exhibition jointly sponsored by the IEBA and the China-EU Association was one of the activities of the Year of Chinese Culture held in France. All the exhibits were IEBA’s collections related to China. The unveiling ceremony of the China-France Friendship Bell was held at the same time of the inauguration of the exhibition. The bell with a weight of 1，300 kilograms was funded by the French side， designed by the Chinese bell experts， cast by the China Bell Casting Factory and transported to France at the end of June. The inscriptions on the bell record important events between China and France in 2004 including the Culture Year held in each other’s countries， the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France， the 50th anniversary of the founding of the CPAFFC， the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of the European Bell Art， the 10th anniversary of the European Bell Art Museum. Four words of “friendship， respect， tolerance and peace” are engraved on the bell. Chen Haosu wrote a poem to expound the theme of the four words. On July 9 the opening ceremony of the exhibition and the unveiling ceremony of the Friendship Bell were held in the European Bell Art Museum in Isle-Jourdain. In his speech at the ceremony Chen Haosu expressed his congratulations on the successful holding of the exhibition and casting of the China-France Friendship Bell， and wished the Year of French Culture to be soon held in China success. In his speech， Mr. Malvy， president of the Council of Mid-Pyrénées Region， praised the achievements China had made in the economic construction and social development in the recent years， and hoped that the development of France-China relations would become an example for the development of Europe-China relations， and wished the Year of French Culture in China success. Mme. Elizabeth Mitterrand， president of the IEBA， and mayor of Isle-Jourdain City also spoke at the ceremony. The opening ceremony ended in the ringing of the bell struck by the Chinese and French guests.