Visitors browse the exhibition featuring 42 Taizhou landscape paintings held at the Fort Wayne Art Museum. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]

A delegation of artists from Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province, was recently invited to attend an art festival held in Fort Wayne, its sister city in the United States.

Based in Taizhou's Huangyan district, the Jiufeng Landscape Painting Academy stands as the sole international art group to have received an invitation to the festival.

As a prelude to the festival, an exhibition featuring 42 Taizhou landscape paintings opened at the Fort Wayne Art Museum, attracting a significant number of local attendees. They were captivated by the picturesque landscapes of Taizhou and showed a keen interest in traditional Chinese painting techniques.

Upon arriving at Fort Wayne, the delegation delivered a series of lectures on the history of Chinese landscape painting at the Fort Wayne Library, Canterbury High School, and Fort Wayne Art Museum. They showcased live landscape painting demonstrations and offered workshops for attendees to experience the artistry themselves. Each event was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.

During their visit, Tom Henry, mayor of Fort Wayne, met with the delegation. He warmly welcomed them on behalf of the Fort Wayne City Government and thanked them for the cultural exchange.

Henry highlighted the longstanding friendship between Fort Wayne and Taizhou, which has been cultivated for over a decade. He viewed the visit as a significant step in revitalizing exchanges and cooperation in various fields following the challenges posed by the pandemic. He extended his appreciation to the Taizhou delegation for adding a touch of Taizhou to the Fort Wayne Arts Festival and expressed hope that the exchange would deepen the friendship between the two cities and promote mutual cultural understanding.

In 2012, Taizhou and Fort Wayne forged a sisterhood relationship, firmly establishing the foundations of a long-lasting friendship.