Chinese American Film Festival and TV Festival Held Virtually

The 16th Chinese American Film Festival （CAFF） and Chinese American TV Festival（CATF） was held virtually on November 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organizing committee of the CAFF and CATF is committed to promoting film and television exchanges between China and the United States against all difficulties and actively explores to hold this event online amid the COVID-19 pandemic， Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping said in his video speech.

The event “not only maintains the continuity of activities， but also opens up a new way for China-U.S. film and television exchanges，” and it“has been increasingly influential， becoming an important platform for film and television exchanges” between the two countries， Zhang added.

Founded in 2005 by EDI Media Inc.， this cultural event aims to promote film and television industry exchanges and cooperation between China and the U.S. and to enhance the influence and visibility of Chinas outstanding film and television works in international markets.

The annual event is usually held in November in Los Angeles， but was forced to move online as the world battles the ongoing pandemic.

International Travel Expo Kicks off in Macao

The eighth Macao International Travel （Industry） Expo kicked off on November 6 in Chinas Macao Special Administrative Region（SAR）.

The three-day event， organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office （MGTO） and coordinated by the Macao Travel Agency Association， brought together physical and virtual exhibitions online for the first time. It also meant to push forward innovative cooperation and inspire new thinking for tourism and related industries.

The exhibition floor covered a total area of 22，000 square meters this year， accommodating over 660 booths. Over 130 local exhibitors were present at the expo. Around 350 on-site exhibitors from the Macao SAR and the mainland also participated， and about 50 exhibitors joined the expo virtually， mainly consisting of tourism offices and entities from different countries and regions.

The expo encompassed six major highlights including tour products for sale， innovative and interactive confluence of virtual“Cloud” series and physical exhibitions focusing on tourism cooperation， and product development.

International buyers discussed business opportunities with onsite exhibitors online， and local industry exhibitors also connected virtually with overseas professional buyers.

Digitalization to be Harnessed to “Bring Back” Dunhuangs Cultural Artifacts

Chinese researchers plan to digitalize cultural artifacts that were taken overseas from the famed Mogao Grottoes more than a century ago.

The artifacts excavated from the Library Cave in the grottoes will be digitalized， Luo Huaqing， deputy director of the Dunhuang Academy， said at an conference on November 7.

Through international cooperation， a database will be built on the basis of digital collection of cultural artifacts.“On the premise of protecting intellectual property rights， the sharing of digital resources will be realized worldwide，” said Luo.

The Library Cave in Mogao Grottoes was discovered in 1900， with around 60，000 rare cultural artifacts unearthed. About 40，000 pieces have been lost to more than 10 countries including Britain， France， Russia， and Japan.

Digital technology provides an important way to share and“return” Dunhuang documents. Britain and France shared Dunhuang cultural artifacts resources in digital form with China in 1994 and 2015 respectively.

By visiting the website“Digital Dunhuang” launched by the Dunhuang Academy in 2016， visitors around the world can be immersed in the images of murals from across 30 caves.

Cuba to Introduce Chinese Language Course in Secondary Schools

China and Cuba signed an agreement in Havana on October 29 to extend Chinese language learning among Cubas secondary school students as an optional foreign language.

The agreement was signed by Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Chen Xi on behalf of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under Chinas Ministry of Education and Adalberto Revilla， national director of secondary school at the Cuban Ministry of Education.

Initially， the Chinese language classes will benefit 100 seventh graders from Fructuoso Rodriguez secondary school in Havana， and are due to start in January 2021.

“As a result of the friendship that unites our peoples， there is an increasing need to learn Chinese in Cuba， and Spanish in China，” said the Chinese ambassador during the signing ceremony.

Chen said the agreement signals closer ties and extensive collaboration between the two countries.

“We want to boost Chinese language learning on the island，” said Cubas First Deputy Minister of Education Cira Pineiro. “These classes will be fundamental to enhancing links between China and Cuba.”