Nalanda's Xuan Zang Memorial Hall to be opened on Feb 12

New Delhi, Feb 9 (UNI) Xuan Zang Memorial Hall at Nalanda, the ancient seat of high learning in Bihar, will be opened to public on February 12 amid a high-level representation from India and China at the inaugural ceremony.

The Indian side will be represented by Culture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni, Bihar Governor R S Gavai and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and ICCR Chairman Karan Singh.

The Chinese side will be represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing, Administrator of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Mr. Ye Xiaowen, Vice President and Secretary General of the Budhist Association of China, Mr Xue Cheng, and Deputy Director General of China National Tourism Administration, Mr Zhang Xiqin. Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, Nalanda is situated about 90 km From Patna and 80 km from Bodh Gaya, has been built in the memory of Xuan Zang'ss visit to India in the 7th Century AD.

Considered a symbol and an instrument of cultural exchange between the two great civilizations of India and China, Xuan Zang studied at the world famous Nalanda University for five years and taught there for one year.

While returning to China, he carried a large number of manuscripts with him and translated them in Chinese, which laid a strong foundation of Buddhism not only in China but also in Korea and Japan. In January 1957 Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, received the relics of Xuan Zang, along with endowment for the construction of the Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, and Chinese Tripitaka (containing Chinese Buddhist literature) from China brought by the Dalai Lama and the Panchem Lama of Tibet as representatives of Chinese Government at a function in Nalanda.

''The Nava Nalanda Mahavihara had prepared a detailed plan for its complete renovation, restoration and creative development and the same is now complete,'' a Culture Ministry official said.

When a six-member Indian Delegation visited China during September 9-17 last year to discuss various aspects of completion and opening of Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, it was mutually agreed that since opening of Xuan Zang Memorial Hall is one of the important activities in Indo-China friendship, the Chinese side would also participate in the inaugural ceremony.

UNI