A stall promoting Dutch design concept. [Photo by Zhang Xingjian/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Under the banner "A Look at Holland", the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing held an Open Day last Friday.

To promote Dutch culture among Chinese people, visitors from home and abroad visited displays offering information on education, tourism and visa procedures to getting to know Dutch icons such as Vincent van Gogh and Miffy.

Aart Jacobi, the Dutch ambassador to China, said this year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-EU relations and that Chinese people should visit the European Union, Holland in particular, now that 48-hour visa procedures are in place.

Zhou Youyou, consultant of NESO (Netherlands Education Supporting Office) China, suggested that from 1575, Holland had been a leader in higher education. As the first non-English country to give lessons in English, Holland took pride in its international teaching system with more than 90,000 international students studying in 14 research universities and 21 universities of applied sciences.