A comic book featuring ancient Slovenian astronomer Ferdinand Avgustin Hallerstein was launchd here on Thursday, which is hailed as a promoter to the cultural exchanges between China and Slovenia.

The newly launched Slovene-Chinese picture book, written and drawn by Huiqin Wang, a Chinese painter living in Slovenia, illustrates the life of astronomer Hallerstein.

"It is the first book in Slovene that dedicates to children who desire to relations between Slovenia and China," Bojana Rogelj Skafar, director at Slovene Ethnographic Museum, told Xinhua at the opening ceremony of a special exhibition of Wang's art works.

Hallerstein (1703-1774), with a Chinese name Liu Song Ling, is a legendary person known for his great scientific contribution during his 31-year-old service as chief of imperial astronomer at the Beijing Court in Qing Dynasty in the 18th century.

Elaborate Equatorial Armillary Sphere, a traditional astronomical instrument, was manufactured under his supervision. Displayed at the Beijing Ancient Observatory, the old copper astronomical instrument witnessed important work by the Slovenian missionary in China.