Sharing ancient roots and distrust of the US, many in China are suddenly really into Iran
By Sylvie Zhuang, CNN
Hong Kong (CNN) — As US and Israeli bombardments rained down on Iran, damaging some cherished cultural sites, scores of Persian artifacts were safe and sound, 5,000 kilometers away in northern China, under the watchful eye of Dong Bibing.
The museum curator is managing an exhibition of more than 150 Iranian antiques, from floral-patterned glassware to vivid, intricately designed carpets.
Since war broke out in late February, the show in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia province, had grown increasingly popular, as interest surges among Chinese people in a nearby nation and culture that rivals their own in its depth and ancientness.
Originally scheduled to end in March, it was extended into April and just wrapped up on Monday. The exhibits will soon go on display in another city, yet to be decided – a fifth stop on a nationwide tour.
Dong said he felt “very heartbroken” when he read about Iranian historical landmarks, including Tehran’s Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being damaged by war.
“But now, right before my eyes, there is a collection of truly outstanding Iranian artifacts.”
Many visitors shared their experience of admiring those artifacts, encouraging others to visit as soon as possible.
Dong told CNN: “The war has led me to feel this urge – this protective instinct – to safeguard them and preserve them as best as I can.”
While both are currently ruled by revolutionary governments established within living memory, Iran and China both have roots going back millennia. Each traces its modern-day lineage back to an ancient civilization – something their people and governments are fiercely proud of.
The ancient city of Persepolis encapsulates advances in architecture, urban planning, construction and art under the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) that preceded modern Iran, according to UNESCO, and “ranks among the archaeological sites which have no equivalent and which bear unique witness to a most ancient civilization.”
More than 130 Iranian landmarks have been destroyed or damaged during the six-week bombing campaign by the US and Iran, according to the cultural heritage ministry. UNESCO has voiced its concern about damage to cultural sites in Iran and Lebanon.
The US and Israel both say they do not deliberately target cultural or historical sites. President Donald Trump has previously threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” if it does not cave to his demands.
Surging book sales
While the Chinese government has played a delicate diplomatic hand over the conflict between its biggest global rival and its closest friend in the Middle East, its people have displayed a wave of curiosity and admiration toward Iran.
Leading booksellers in Beijing confirmed the surging interest.
“Books on Iran used to get no buyers, but demand has picked up recently,” said a worker at Page One bookstore in Beijing, who asked not to be named.
Across Chinese university campuses, students are also checking out books on Iran to learn why the US wanted to go to war with a country that to them seems distant and mysterious.
“More students have come to check out books on Iran since last month, even comics book like ‘Persepolis’ are being checked out by more readers every day,” a librarian at a prestigious Beijing university, surnamed Zhang, told CNN. She declined to give her full name as she is not authorized to speak to foreign media.
Penned by Iranian-French artist Marjane Satrapi, the early-2000s graphic novel “Persepolis” portrayed a young girl’s coming of age in Iran under its transition from the Shah’s regime to the Islamic Republic in 1979. It was turned into the 2007 film of the same name.
The book has resurfaced as a popular title in China since the war started, with booksellers reporting only a few copies left in the stock.
Watching documentaries on ancient Iran has recently become a favorite pastime of Karen Yan, a 30-year-old finance worker in Beijing, after a tough day at work staring at market data telling the story of the war’s global ripple effects.
The timeless beauty of Iranian architecture – ornate, with geometric precision – has been soothing, she said. Admitting not knowing much about Iran, Yan said her curiosity has only grown stronger since the war broke out.
“Having seen in the news that those ancient sites in Iran turned to debris has led me want to learn what they once were, and I find those truly beautiful,” Yan told CNN.
Another recent Iranophile is Echo Zhao, who works in the consulting industry in Suzhou, a city just west of Shanghai, who recently bought two books on the country, to “better understand or empathize with the current situation or circumstances of ordinary people.”
Noting the two countries’ “shared civilizational foundation, as well as a shared history of oppression and invasion,” the 34-year-old said Chinese interest in Iran is “probably due to the current international climate and the reality of US-China tensions.”
“So we’ve always viewed the US as an enemy – just like Iran – and in all aspects of our propaganda, we’ve adopted an anti-American stance, treating the US as our primary enemy,” Zhao added.
And as the war – currently paused by a shaky ceasefire – continues to play havoc with global supply chains and put pressure on fuel reserves especially in East Asia, many in China are also seeking to understand how it will come to affect them.
Gao Shan, an academic publisher in Beijing, told CNN that he has recently dug out books on Iran from some forgotten corners in his office, to understand more what is going on.
The 45-year-old noted that Iran shares a bond with China as “ancient Iran has always been a critical link in China’s ancient trade route silk road.”
“But now I want to read to comprehend how the US started a war with this country may affect our energy supplies,” he added.
The Hohhot exhibition’s head curator, Yin Quanbin – a Chinese national living in Iran – said he hoped his compatriots could “see that Iranians are people just like us, right?”
“They have their own joys and sorrows, their own perspectives on the world,” he said.
“I believe this elevates the image of Iranian civilization and the country itself, and that truly brings me great satisfaction.”
Additional reporting by Joyce Jiang
The-CNN-Wire
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