In the exhibition hall of "Ancient Bells from Foreign Countries",
your attention will be attracted by two small glittering bells. One
of them is the bell of friendship presented by Italy in 1993. The
inscription on the bell "Italy — Beijing, 1993" reflects the
profound friendship between the people of Italy and China. The bell
is 0.35 meter in height, 0.28 meter in rim diameter and 44
kilograms in weight.
The other small bell was presented
to the people of Beijing by Mark Blumsky, Mayor of Wellington, New
Zealand in ,September 1997. The bell was once kept on a ship in the
port of Wellington. It was made to mark its 50,000 safe voyages.
Blumsky presented the bell to the people of Beijing as a symbol of
friendship between the two cities. The bell is 0.2 meter in height,
0.21 meter in rim diameter and 9.2 kilograms in weight.