Ando is an artist well known for his poems, calligraphy and inscription. In the past 20 years, he has traveled throughout China and Japan and translated what he has seen and thought into old-style Chinese verses, presented in the form of calligraphy and engravings. He has staged or participated in many exhibitions in both China and Japan and contributed greatly to cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the event's organizer, said at the opening ceremony that the exhibition would not only gratify calligraphy lovers in the Chinese capital but also stimulate activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations and cultural exchanges.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2002)