TEHRAN – On Sunday, a delegation of museum experts from China met with Iranian cultural heritage officials and experts from East Azarbaijan province to discuss ways to widen cooperation.

Historical attractions of Tabriz, the provincial capital, are set to go on show in Shanghai based on initial agreements they reached on Sunday, IRNA reported.

Historical attractions of Tabriz will be introduced in Shanghai in line with the cultural cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China, a Chinese museum director said.

Bilateral introduction of tourism capacities will be carried out based on an agreement to be inked with the general directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of East Azarbaijan, the director said.

Reciprocally, Tabriz will hold an event dedicated to Chinese arts, historical relics, and tourism attractions, said Ahmad Hamzezadeh who is the tourism chief of East Azerbaijan province.

Before this, the exhibitions of Chinese cultural and artistic works had been held in Tehran and Isfahan, Hamzezadeh said.

Hamzezadeh announced the readiness of both sides to sign a memorandum of cooperation and added: In this context, holding special tours to familiarize tourism activists and Chinese handicraft artists with the tourism capacities of East Azarbaijan is on the agenda.

Iran and China, both subject to U.S. sanctions, have signed a 25-year cooperation agreement to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance.

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan, embraces several historical and religious sites, including the Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex to name a few. The city became the capital of the Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Gazan (1295–1304) and his successor. Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, took it in 1392. Some decades later, the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen made it their capital. It was when the famous Blue Mosque was built in Tabriz.

The city retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548, when Shah Tahmasp I relocated his capital westward to Qazvin. During the next two centuries, Tabriz changed hands several times between Persia and the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the city was temporarily occupied by Turkish and then Soviet troops.

AFM