Ambassadors Jose M. Borja of Ecuador, Carmenza Jaramillo of Colombia, and Philip Marmo of Tanzania take up their shovels for an Earth Day bamboo-planting ceremony on April 22. [Photo/China Daily]

Two dozen diplomats joined a bamboo-planting ceremony for Earth Day last week, as the International Bamboo and Rattan Network hosted an Ambassador's Day program.

Zhao Shucong, head of the State Forestry Administration, led the VIPs speaking at the event, joining INBAR staff and diplomats from many of the 38 countries that are members of the bamboo network. Speakers gave a special acknowledgement to envoys in the group who have recently come to China, including Guy Saint-Jacques of Canada, Michael Kinyanjui of Kenya, Mahesh Kumar Maskey of Nepal, Abdoulaye Fall of Senegal, Muhammad Azizul Haque of Bangladesh, Carmenza Jaramillo of Colombia, and Jose M. Borja of Ecuador.

Spain's new ambassador to China, Manuel Valencia Alonso, opened an embassy-sponsored exhibition, From Picasso to Barcelo. Spanish Sculpture of the 20th Century, at the National Art Museum of China on April 22. The exhibition, which runs through June 30, features works from more than two dozen artists, including Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro, and shows the development of 20th-century Spanish sculpture. Alonso didn't have a chance to enjoy all of the opening festivities, however. After his speech, he left the museum to meet President Xi Jinping to formally present his credentials.

Israeli Ambassador Matan Vilnai hosted a reception to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the nation's independence last weekend at Beijing's Kempinski Hotel. The event featured an exhibition by Leonid Padrul, head of the photographic department of Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, whose main interest is photographing the Dead Sea.

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Photos: World Earth Day celebration