China to Build Two Cultural Ecology Protection Pilot Zones

　　China’s cultural affairs regulator has approved plans to build two cultural ecology protection experimental zones at the national level.
　　The two zones will be set up in Jingdezhen City in eastern China’s Jiangxi Province and Luoyang City in Henan Province， according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
　　The pilot zone in Jingdezhen， known as China’s porcelain capital， will feature its time-honored history of porcelain making， while the city of Luoyang will highlight the ancient civilization along the Yellow River， according to the ministry.
　　Local authorities need to formulate operation measures， build and improve regulation systems， and put in place multifaceted protection policies regarding the zones.
　　An overall plan on the building of the two cultural ecology protection zones must be finalized within one year， according to the ministry.
　　China started building national cultural ecology protection zones in recent years to help develop traditional cultures in areas with rich intangible cultural heritage resources.
　　Seven areas have so far been designated as national cultural ecology protection zones.

NYU Shanghai Holds Virtual Graduation Ceremony

　　Shanghai New York University （NYU Shanghai） held a virtual commencement ceremony for undergraduates of the 2020 class on May 29.
　　Due to COVID-19， NYU Shanghai adopted an online graduation ceremony for the first time， which was livestreamed from the university’s auditorium.
　　A total of 229 students from 24 countries and regions attended the ceremony to celebrate the completion of their education and receive their degrees.
　　NYU Shanghai preserved some rituals for the ceremony， such as a torch handover and lighting up the Oriental Pearl Tower， a landmark building in Shanghai， in the university’s signature purple color.
　　Jack Ma， founder of Alibaba Group and the recipient of this year’s Chancellor’s Medal of Honor， addressed the graduating class through an online speech to encourage all graduates to meet future challenges with poise.
　　Jeffrey S. Lehman， vice chancellor of NYU Shanghai， also encouraged the graduates to help create a fair and flourishing world with their knowledge and skills.
　　The ceremony concluded with a virtual rendition of the school song by all the attending graduates.
　　According to the university， there will be another virtual graduation ceremony held to celebrate the graduation of NYU Shanghai’s first class of 62 postgraduates. 　　NYU Shanghai was established in 2012 as China’s first China-U.S. university operating as an independent legal entity.

Guangzhou Opera House to Reopen with Performance of Marco Polo

　　Guangzhou Opera House said on June 10 that it would reopen on June 25 after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak， restaging Marco Polo as its first show.
　　“The show was highly anticipated， and the tickets sold out in just a few minutes，” said Chen Rui， assistant to the general manager of the opera house.
　　According to Chen， strict anti-virus measures have been imposed for the reopening.
　　The attendance rate will be brought to under 30 percent of capacity for the sake of social distancing. Employees have taken nucleic acid tests and infrared temperature detection devices have been installed at main entrances.
　　The show， combining the legend of Marco Polo with an original Chinese-written opera， was produced by the Guangzhou Opera House in 2018.

China’s Istanbul Consulate Marks Turkish National Day with Live Broadcast

　　The Chinese Consulate in Istanbul marked the Turkish Festival of Youth and Sports on May 19 with a live broadcast on social media.
　　Yang Yun， the spokesperson for the consulate， delivered the good messages of his country to the Turkish people and celebrated their national day on Instagram.
　　He noted that Turkey’s national day is extremely important as it was the outcome of the country’s search for independence.
　　The spokesperson also answered questions of Turkish social media users who joined in the live broadcast， about China and China’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
　　On May 19， 1919， the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk launched the Turkish war of independence in Turkey’s northern province of Samsun. Ataturk later dedicated the day to the youth of the Turkish nation.