Ambassador of Russian Tourism Year to China Year visited Trinity-Sergius Lavra
Chinese Orthodox Church
English translation by Nina Tkachuk Dimas
On August 14, 2012 Li Jian, the famous Chinese writer and performer of popular music, visited Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra; in March 2012 he became the Ambassador of Russian Tourism Year to China.
Li Jian and members of the accompanying Chinese delegation familiarized themselves with the shrines and churches of this ancient Russian monastery, and viewed the ecclesio-archaeological room of the Moscow Theological Academy.
As a memento Mr. Li was presented with CDs of works by Metropolitan Hilarion, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of Moscow Patriarchate, and with liturgical hymns sung by the choir the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, as well as the book, “Orthodoxy in China”, published in Chinese and Russian by the Department for External Church Relations, in collaboration with the Institute for Far Eastern Studies and the Russian-Chinese Business Council.
E.Y. Tomihin, Minister-Coucellor of the Embassy of Russia in China; A.V. Kalashnik, Acting Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Business Council; V.N. Rostnov, Executive Secretary of the Russian-Chinese Business Council, and D.I. Petrovsky, a member of the DECR took part in the trip to Sergiev Posad.
The state leaders of China and Russia declared 2012 to be the Year of Russian Tourim to China. In this regard, the title Ambassador of Russian Tourism Year to China was established. Such ambassadors were the actor Lu Yi and the singer Li Jian.
Li Jian has felt a spiritual closeness to Russia and its culture from childhood. He loves Russian music and literature, including works of composers of P.I. Tchaikovsky and S. Rachmaninoff, the writers, L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. In 2011, Li Jian, visited Russia, after which he wrote the song “On the shores of Lake Baikal”, where Russian tunes are clearly audible.
