Guests including Bertrand Lortholary, the French Ambassador to China at the event Photo:Courtesy of the French Embassy in China

The opening ceremony of the "Franco-Chinese Month of the Environment," an event dedicated to strengthening China-France mutual goals in the field of environmental protection, was held at an art hub called the Choi Centre in Beijing on Tuesday.

Led by the French Embassy in China, the 2023 event is themed "Vivre Autrement" in French, encouraging individuals to "live differently" by finding their unique approaches to protecting the environment.

Over the course of one month, the Franco-Chinese Month of the Environment will present audiences with more than 100 cultural events covering diverse fields such as forum discussions, art events, film screenings, as well as workshops designed for children to enhance their environmental awareness.

These events will be held in more than 30 Chinese cities such as Guangzhou and Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

One of the event's forum discussions, titled "Zero Plastic Lifestyle," invites audiences to imagine a "post-plastic future" as a means to encourage the public to reduce the usage of plastics in daily life.

The French documentary film "Ice and Sky" was prominently featured at the event's opening ceremony. It portrays the life story of glaciologist Claude Lorius, who dedicated his entire life to combating global warming. In addition to films and forum discussions, the month-long event also features exhibitions like "The Paper Cutter," contributed by Chinese artist Chen Fenwan.

Bertrand Lortholary, the French Ambassador to China, emphasized the importance of "protecting the world's biodiversity" during the event's opening. He also acknowledged China's contributions in this area, citing examples such as the successful launch of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

"Faced with many severe environmental challenges, China and France aim to collaborate in encouraging the international community to contribute to this issue," the Ambassador stated.