An oil painting exhibition featuring cityscapes of Qingdao kicked off in its sister city of Long Beach in the United States on Nov 18, with 11 paintings portraying Qingdao's urban scenery on display.

Hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Qingdao Municipal Government, the event is intended to tell Qingdao’s story via paintings and offer a window for the world to learn about the city, as well as enhance the friendship between the two sister cities.

Zhang Ping, China's Consul General in Los Angeles, and Dr. Mary Barton, the Ambassador of Friendship of Shandong Province and former president of the Long Beach-Qingdao Association, jointly opened the exhibition.

Zhang gave his congratulations on the opening of the exhibition. He said the Qingdao-Long Beach sister-city relationship and their port cooperation not only benefit each other's development, but also help enhance the friendship between the peoples of the two countries, adding that he hopes their sister-city relationship will grow stronger.

Barton helped with the hosting of the exhibition. She said Qingdao is a city with beautiful scenery and rich heritage and thanked Qingdao for bringing the exhibition, which helps them better understand Qingdao through the works of Qingdao artists.

Qingdao and Long Beach became sister cities in 1985 and have carried out fruitful exchanges and cooperation in the fields of ports, economy and trade, education, culture and youth.

Port of Qingdao, the second-largest foreign trade port in China, and Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest container seaport in the United States, established a sister port relationship in 1997. The two celebrated the 25th anniversary of their sister port relationship this year.

Source：International Daily