On October 15th, Yangzhou celebrated its “China-Korea Friendship Exchange Day.” The newly renovated Cui Zhiyuan Memorial Hall opened its doors, welcoming over 160 descendants of the Cui family from Korea, who gathered to honor their ancestor, Cui Zhiyuan, known as the “pioneer of China-Korea relations.”
Cui Zhiyuan is revered as a founding figure by the Cui clan in Korea and is a distinguished representative of the history of friendship between the two nations. He served as an official in Yangzhou for five years and authored “Guiyuan Bigeng Ji,” making significant contributions to cultural exchanges between China and Korea. The memorial hall named after him was established and opened in 2007.
Liu Weiguo, the director of the Shugang-Shouxihu Scenic Area Administrative Committee, shared, “Since the Cui Zhiyuan Memorial Hall came under our management in 2016, we have substantially increased funding and implemented renovation projects for the memorial hall and its surrounding environment. New attractions, such as Cui Zhiyuan Square and the ‘Ren Bai Ji Qian’ pavilion, have been built. This year, we invested an additional 2 million RMB to completely upgrade the basic exhibitions of the memorial hall, presenting it in a fresh light to our visitors.”
Xu Sheng, vice-chairman of the Yangzhou Political Consultative Conference, expressed, “Yangzhou aims to leverage the opening of the Cui Zhiyuan Memorial Hall as an opportunity to enhance our position as an international cultural tourism city. We will fully utilize our rich cultural heritage, abundant tourism resources, and comprehensive public cultural construction to expand multifaceted cooperation with cities in Korea.”
Since 2001, the Gyeongju Cui Clan Central Council in Korea has made annual visits to Yangzhou to honor Cui Zhiyuan, marking an important symbolic activity in the friendship between Yangzhou and Gyeongju. “This year marks the 25th anniversary of the friendly exchanges between Yangzhou and the Gyeongju Cui Clan Central Council. Through continuous cultural exchanges, we have fostered a brotherly relationship that symbolizes Korea-China friendship,” said Choi Tiankui, president of the Gyeongju Cui Clan Central Council. “We hope to use this platform to deepen the relationship between Yangzhou and Gyeongju, further enhancing the friendship between our two nations.”
Li Bin, the curator of the Cui Zhiyuan Memorial Hall, noted, “The deep bond between Cui Zhiyuan and the ancient city of Yangzhou has transformed into a precious memory that spans over a millennium, forever engraved in the hearts of the peoples of both countries, while continuing to tell moving stories of friendship between China and Korea.”
