MILAN, Italy, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Shi Yang Shi has a mission of friendship in Italy, with his challenging story of a Chinese-born boy who grew up abroad and became an actor as well as a symbol of cultural integration.

"I celebrate my Chinese roots in Italy," Shi told Xinhua in an interview shortly before participating in a renowned talk show on LA7 television earlier this week.

"What my life goal is? I try to build mutual trust between Chinese and Italians by seeking common ground on major questions while reserving differences on minor ones," the 35-year-old actor said.

The latest project promoted by Shi is an exhibition featuring photographs and short films each portraying an Italian and a foreigner doing something together in an everyday moment of their real life in Prato.

The Tuscan town in central Italy counts around 200,000 inhabitants belonging to as many as 118 different ethnic groups. Chinese have a massive presence out of the total number of foreigners living in Prato.

The Facewall Prato exhibition is inspired by a project launched last year by Compost Prato, a group of artists with different cultural roots based in Prato.

"We met with local authorities and professionals to address the issue of cultural integration. After a year of research, we were aware of the key role played by Chinese activities in tackling the economic crisis and the need to further improve collaboration," Shi recalled.

The result was a total of 100 couples pictured together by Ilaria Costanzo, an Italian photographer, in different areas of city life: school, trade, culture, industry, politics, sport and outdoor activities.