Global launch of documentary "Master Zao Wou-Ki" held in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The global launch of documentary "Master Zao Wou-Ki" was held in Hong Kong on Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.

The 160-minute documentary, featuring Chinese-French painter Zao Wou-Ki's life, is divided into three chapters: Zhejiang, Hong Kong and Paris. It is scheduled to be released in October this year as a tribute to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.

Li Yongsheng, acting commissioner for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said that Hong Kong is capable of building a platform for the integrated development of Chinese and Western cultures and playing a unique role in promoting a harmonious world and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Christile Drulhe, consul general of France in Hong Kong, said that Zao's artistic journey was one that featured a multiplicity of cultures and captured the essence of both the East and West. "Today, we come together to celebrate the artistic legacy and the profound connections he forged between France and China including Hong Kong."

Jonathan Choi, chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong and co-producer of the documentary, said that Zao came to Hong Kong from Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and from Hong Kong to the world. Hong Kong laid the cornerstone for Zao's artistic take-off.

Zao was born in Beijing in 1920, art-schooled in Hangzhou, and went to Paris in 1948. In the late 1950s, Zao came and taught in Hong Kong, which brought him in contact with local artists and institutions. He is a model of Sino-French friendship and also an example of mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilizations.