Anyang is located in Henan Province, central China, which is considered the 'Cradle of Chinese Civilization'. As one of the eight ancient imperial cities, Anyang has a history of more than 3,000 years. The city is well-known for the oldest relics of Chinese characters which were found there: the famous 'oracle bones' from the Shang Dynasty, between 1,300 and 1,000 BC. These are tortoise shells engraved with characters that were thrown into fire and read as omens. Therefore, Anyang is considered the capital of Chinese Scripture – and has now mutated into a 5.5 million metropolis of immense cultural and economic importance.
We are all the more pleased that, on the initiative of Media University lecturer Ms. Aimin Feng, our Cologne campus was chosen as venue of the conference on 'Furthering of Investment and Cultural Tourism Anyang-Cologne' on August 24th, 2023. A delegation of 12 people, headed by Anyang's Lord Mayor Mr. Jiajian Yuan, arrived in Cologne for this purpose. After a celebratory reception in Cologne's historic town hall, the conference was opened by the Rector of Media University, Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Schulz. We would like to thank esp. the Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Düsseldorf, Mr. Chunguo Du, for his attendance and his speech. This contact is of particular interest for our design department, which was represented at the conference by Prof. Dr. Markus Schröppel.
The city of Anyang maintains its cultural heritage, esp. with regard to typography and calligraphy, in its outstanding museums and universities. The result of the conference is that in a return visit by Media University to Anyang University in September 2023, joint projects in the field of design and written culture should be initiated.
