|
ATHENS, Nov. 9-- A Chinese night dedicated to the Athens Marathon was held on Thursday evening at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) in Athens. Greek and Chinese audience gave a warm applause to the Chinese artists who came from Beijing to hold an exquisite performance at the glass-walled Lighthouse on the eighth floor of the SNFCC. The event was organized by the Municipality of Beijing and the Chinese embassy in Greece on the occasion of the 36th Athens Marathon that will take place on Sunday. "Today the marathon spirit shall forge closer ties between the two ancient civilizations," Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zhang Qiyue said addressing the ceremony. "Art has no national borders. The cultural and national exchanges will bring us closer arousing an overflow of powerful feelings," she noted. Through sports and culture, Greeks and Chinese lay the foundations for new bilateral cooperation projects. "We want in the future the Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) to have closer cooperation with the Organizing Committee of the Athens Marathon and through this collaboration to spread and promote more the marathon spirit," Shui Tao, Vice Secretary of CAA said. The marathon running has a rapid growth in China in the last years. In 2017, more than 230 cities organized marathon races in which more than 5 million people took part. For the Greek part, Makis Asimakopoulos, general coordinator of the Marathon of Athens, praised the cooperation of the two parts. | 
