After nearly a decade in China over two diplomatic postings, Tinatin Shishinashvili thought there was little left to surprise her. Then she stopped at a booth displaying a blue-and-white teacup — one that any visitor to Turkiye would recognize instantly as the country's iconic tulipshaped tea glass, rendered here in Jingdezhen's signature cobalt glaze.
"Silk and porcelain — everyone knows these," said Shishinashvili, senior counselor at the embassy of Georgia in Beijing, as she browsed exhibits at the Finest Cultural Gifts From China cultural and tourism trade promotion event in late June.
"But China has so much more to offer. There are products, art forms and cultural expressions that people overseas have simply never encountered," she added.
Moments earlier, she had been deep in conversation with representatives of the China Oriental Performing Arts Group, one of the country's most prestigious performance ensembles, about possible cooperation.
An idea was beginning to take shape: Could Georgian traditional dance, with its soaring leaps and women gliding across the stage in flowing dresses, one day be performed alongside Chinese classical productions?
As she made her way through the exhibition hall, she paused to listen to the stories behind the products on display.
She lingered at the Jingdezhen booth, asking about the workshop where the teacups were made, and the artisans who painted each brushstroke by hand.
She said she would love to visit the city in Jiangxi province, walk through the kiln sites, and watch the craftspeople at work. "A porcelain learning tour to Jingdezhen is now on my list."
Shishinashvili's experience reflected a broader theme running through the event: how Chinese cultural products, creative industries and ideas are reaching new audiences overseas, while those encounters are reshaping perceptions on both sides.
