Prince William poses with a "Shaun the Sheep" sculpture at the British Ambassador’s residence in Beijing on Monday, March 2. (Photo : Reuters)
Prince William launched a China-U.K. cultural event in Beijing on Monday as part of his first-ever visit to China by dotting the eyes of beloved British cartoon character Shaun the Sheep.
With a Chinese writing brush and red ink in hand, the Duke of Cambridge dotted the eyes of the sheep, echoing the animal symbol of this Chinese Lunar New Year, at the residence of the British Ambassador to China.
The ceremony, which was drawn from the Chinese tradition of dotting the lion's eye in a lion dance to usher in good fortune, marked the beginning of the 2015 China-U.K. Year of Cultural Exchange.
William also talked with Chinese artists prior to the ceremony but gave no speeches.
The prince, who is on his second leg in a seven-day tour of the region, will also attend the Great Festival of Creativity in Shanghai on Tuesday, where over 500 artists, designers and companies from the U.K. will be represented, and will later head on to Yunnan Province in China's southwest.
Prince William's visit to China is the first by a senior member of the British royal family in three decades since Queen Elizabeth's tour of the country in 1986.
The Shaun the Sheep sculpture is among 50 models of the character to be exhibited as part of the Year of Cultural Exchange. The models feature designs from British and Chinese artists and will be displayed in five cities across China, according to the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Beijing.
Thirty additional projects are also set to showcase U.K. culture in China for the first half of the year, while the second half will bring Chinese culture to the U.K., Nick Marchand, creative director of the Year of Cultural Exchange, said in a statement.
Several collaborative projects between Chinese and British cultural sectors are also in the works, Marchand added, including a partnership between Britain's Royal Court Theatre and Chinese writers and a British publishing firm translating the works of Chinese contemporary writers into English.
