A reception was held at United Nations headquarters on Thursday to celebrate the permanent placement of the Zun of Peace there, where the vase-like object was presented by President Xi Jinping to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last year.

Xi gave the 1.65-meter tall object to Ban in September during his first state visit to the US, on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

China hopes the Zun of Peace will add to the cultural environment of the UN and also inspire people with the values shared by China and other UN members, said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, at the reception.

"When President Xi addressed the General Assembly last September, he called upon all member states to work together for peace, development, prosperity, fairness and justice in the world and to foster a new paradigm of international relations of win-win cooperation and a community of common destiny for all," he said.

"China stays committed to these objectives. Let us join hands in this common endeavor," he added.

The Peace Bottle, as it is also called, embodies the mutual learning and respect between different civilizations, Xi said after presenting it to Ban.

Xi added that the bottle conveys the Chinese people's desire for peace, development and cooperation, which is consistent with the spirit of the UN Charter.

The Peace Bottle is decorated with ornate dragon ornamentation and traditional Chinese auspicious patterns. There are symbols of the Silk Road on the bottle, as well as seven doves that represent the seven decades that the UN has existed.

It is inspired by ancient Chinese bronze bottles called zun that were used in rituals and to express reverence.

"This Zun of Peace is modeled after that ancient ceremonial vessel and was made by 70 master craftsmen in over 10,000 work hours through more than a hundred cloisonn-making procedures," Liu said. A special furnace was designed and built for the sole purpose of making the zun.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com