Peng Liyuan calls for deeper China-Kyrgyzstan cultural exchanges

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Aigul Japarova, wife of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, visited the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic on Monday, highlighting the role of cultural exchanges in bringing the peoples of the two countries closer.

As they viewed traditional costumes, carpets and other cultural artifacts, Peng said both China and Kyrgyzstan attach great importance to preserving and passing down their rich cultural heritage.

She expressed the hope that the two countries will continue to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges and further enhance bonds between their peoples.

Over the years, China-Kyrgyzstan people-to-people exchanges have become an important pillar of bilateral relations.

The two countries have continued to expand the scope and depth of cultural cooperation, with notable achievements in heritage preservation, education and tourism.

One landmark example is the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, which was jointly submitted by China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

Stretching from central China to Central Asia, the route represents centuries of exchanges in trade, culture and ideas.

It was China's first transnational joint World Heritage nomination and the first Silk Road corridor to be included on the list.

Moreover, in September last year, the China-Kyrgyzstan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Cultural Heritage Conservation was officially approved for construction, providing a new platform for research and cooperation on cultural relic preservation.

Beyond heritage protection, cultural ties are also reflected in growing educational exchanges.

In recent years, interest in learning Chinese has surged in Kyrgyzstan.

The number of Kyrgyz candidates taking the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) in 2025 was three times higher than in 2021, making the country one of the most active participants in HSK testing in Central Asia.

Chinese learners now include not only university students, but also civil servants, business professionals and skilled workers seeking new opportunities.

China has established four Confucius Institutes and 21 Confucius Classrooms in Kyrgyzstan, while cooperation programs such as cross-border e-commerce institutes are providing local students and workers with language training and professional skills.