Turkish Year ceremony in China begins

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik and his Chinese counterpart Cai Wu attended Thursday an opening ceremony of the Turkish Year in China in Beijing. Celik said the Chinese Year in Turkey last year was a great success, adding that he hoped that the Turkish Year in China this year would achieve a similar outcome. Celik Turkey celebrates Nowruz, the beginning of spring, on Thursday, saying, "we started the Turkish Year in China on a nice day. This is a great opportunity to send a message from where the Silk Road to Istanbul." Celik said the Turkish cabinet signed an agreement to open cultural centers of the two countries before his China visit, underlining that Turkey wanted to open a Yunus Emre Cultural Center in Beijing as soon as possible. The opening of the Turkish Year in China will celebrate with a flashy opening ceremony tonight in Beijing. There will be also activities in different Chinese cities.