The ceremony  Photo: Courtesy of National Art Museum of China

The latest sculpture commemorating the great Chinese poet Du Fu and Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was unveiled at the Ukraine Embassy in China on Friday as part of celebrations for the 10th anniversary of China and Ukraine's strategic partnership.

The Soul Gate by artist Wu Weishan, president of the National Art Museum of China, is a replica of the original that now stands at the campus of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in the capital of Ukraine. The piece depicts two open books with a portrait of Taras Shevchenko in the left one and Du Fu in the right. 

According to the embassy, the idea for the sculpture came from the mind of late Ukrainian ambassador to China Sergii Kamyshev, who saw it as a bridge connecting Beijing and Kiev. 

"From Kiev to Beijing, the two poets in the sculpture stand witness to the friendship of Ukraine and China," said Wu. 

"Despite the distance of time and space, they were able to hold a dialogue because they were putting people in their hearts. They wrote for the people and spoke for them, so they are remembered and sung by the people."