Two gold dragons marking the Millennium and the year of Dragon, were donated to the China Charity Federation and the Palace Museum at the Great Hall of the People on November 6. Made of fine gold and silver weighing 220 and 2,000 grams respectively, these exquisite dragons produced by a folk art and craft company in Jiangsu Province are 32 centimeters long, 22 centimeters wide and 58 centimeters high. The gold dragon's back is decorated with 56 pairs of red precious stones standing for the 56 ethnic groups of China. The 34 diamonds on the ornamental pillar symbolize the unity of China's 34 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and special administrative regions while the 22 brightly-lit pearls inlaid on the silver clouds symbolize the achievements of 20 years of reform. Another 5 gold dragons dated with the years 1896, 1945, 1949, 1997 and 1999, are to be donated to the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations, the Museum of Chinese Revolution, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the future Macao Administrative Region. Today's ceremony was held by the Museum of Chinese Nationalities, the Society of Traditional Chinese Culture and the Chinese Collectors Association. (Xinhua) |