Ｏｐｅｎｉｎｇ Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｏｆ Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｆｒｅｎｃｈ Ｃｅｌｅｂｒｉｔｉｅｓ Ｍｅｄａｌｓ ａｎｄ Ｆｉｒｓｔ Ｉｓｓｕａｎｃｅ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｆｒａｎｃｅ Ｃｕｌｔｕ

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the People’s Bank of China jointly held the opening ceremony of the Exhibition of French Celebrities Medals and the first issuance of China-France Culture Year commemorative coins at the China Numismatic Museum on November 25， 2004. Chen Haosu， Chinese vice chairman of the Mixed Committee for the China-France Culture Year and president of the CPAFFC， Wu Xiaoling， deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China， Su Guang， vice president of the CPAFFC， Huang Xiquan， curator of the China Numismatic Museum， Paul Jean-Ortiz， minister-counsellor of the French Embassy in China， Zhuge Wenhai， representative of the Mint of Paris (Monnaie de Paris)， attended the ceremony and cut the ribbon for the opening of the exhibition. The silver commemorative coins specially made by the Mint of Paris for the China-France Culture Year were issued on the occasion.

The exhibition was an important part of the series of activities of the France Culture Year. Medal making is a combination of relief carving and metal pressing techniques. It often adopts the shape of a coin and the minting technique with designs that give it a special meaning. France has rich historical heritages and romantic quality in its arts. Since the 16th century， it has become a trend to make commemorative medals for celebrities and historical events. France has produced many famous designers and engravers in the past several hundred years. By giving full play to their imagination in the limited space， applying the different ways of expression of various art forms such as oil painting， sketch， woodcut， sculpture and even drama， and fully exploiting the special qualities of metal: hardness， ductility， colour and lustre， they have enriched the French medals with profound cultural， historical， realistic， philosophical and artistic connotations. The French medals cover a great variety of subjects and designs made from different perspectives in free artistic style. They have become a special art form and attract the attention of the art circles and collectors.

The more than 400 medals on display， jointly selected by the China Numismatic Museum and the Mint of Paris， are very expressive artistically and varied in artistic styles. Some of the designs are famous historical figures， some beautiful city sceneries. The exhibition has given artistic enjoyment to the Chinese coin collectors and art lovers and enhanced their understanding of the French culture， and at the same time， provided a valuable learning opportunity for the Chinese coin producers.

The Mint of Paris has made a special commemorative coin for the China-France Culture Year. Thirty-seven millimetres in diameter with a face value of 1/4 euro， the silver coin， weighing 22.2 grams， has a total issuance of 10，000 pieces in the world. The designs on the obverse are a Chinese dragon and a Gaulois cock and on the reverse are the Tiananmen Tower， the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven of China and Eiffel Tower， the Arch of Triumph and Saint Michel of France. The words “2003-2004 China Culture Year in France” and “2004-2005 France Culture Year in China” in both Chinese and French are engraved on both sides. It is the first time that France has put characters of another country on its coins in its numismatic history of more than a thousand years.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said in his speech at the ceremony: “The commemorative coins have witnessed the grand events of China and France Culture Year held in each other’s country and embodied the aspiration of the two peoples for lasting China-France friendship.”