National Museum of China to present exclusive exposition in Russia

From 11 April to 17 August 2025, Russia will host the largest exhibition dedicated to Chinese gastronomic traditions. This was announced by Elena Gagarina, Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, at a meeting with journalists at the BRICS+ Information and Cultural Media Centre.

TV BRICS is the organiser of the press conference and international media partner of the project.

Answering the question of the event moderator, TV BRICS Editor-in-Chief Ksenia Komissarova, Gagarina noted that Russia pays great attention to the popularisation of Chinese culture.

The Moscow Kremlin Museums started actively cooperating with the National Museum of China back in 2006, when Beijing hosted the exhibition "Golden Russia. Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin". Since then, cooperation with China has only expanded: over almost 20 years, six major events have been organised in Chinese museums. Among them are "The Armoury Treasury of the Russian Sovereigns" in the Shanghai Museum (2015), which was visited by more than 640,000 people, as well as "Tsar of All Russia. Holiness and Splendour of Power" in Hong Kong (2021), prepared, against the odds, in the midst of a pandemic.

"We have held three expositions from China in the Kremlin and are now preparing a fourth," Gagarina added.

The exposition will allow visitors to get acquainted with the traditions of feasting in ancient China – from the first kitchen utensils of the Neolithic era to the ceremonial tableware of imperial times. A special section is devoted to wine and tea – the main drinks of Chinese culture.

According to Gagarina, the upcoming exhibition has an interesting history. "Our Chinese colleagues made an exception and allowed us into their vaults, where we chose items that, in our opinion, will be more interesting to our public," she said.

Gagarina added that she also asked for an increase in the number of items to be exported. "China has a complicated system of issuing permits, it is not usually accepted to export more than 50-70 items. 145 items is the most representative number of exhibits of an exhibition of this subject that they have ever exported and shown in other museums. The exhibition, which will be presented at our place, ended up being absolutely exclusive," she said.

The exhibition is part of the programme of the cross cultural years of Russia and China (2024-2025) and is a response to the exhibition "Russian Feast – Traditional Foods, Drinks and the Art of Table Setting" from the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, previously held in Beijing.

The BRICS+ Information and Cultural Media Centre is a multifunctional platform for developing humanitarian cooperation between the BRICS+ countries, as well as promoting culture, science and education. It was created by the All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature named after M. I. Rudomino and the TV BRICS International Media Network. It hosts press conferences, seminars, round tables, teleconferences, teleconferences, film screenings, and presentations of cultural, educational, and scientific and educational projects. Up to 50 people can participate in the events at a time.

Photo: Elina Yasyrova / TV BRICS