The Chinese Ministry of Culture and the 51st International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia proudly present the first official China Pavilion in La Biennale di Venezia's 110-year history at the 51st International Art Exhibition. With the tremendous support of Biennale president, Davide Croff, China occupies a temporary pavilion in the Arsenale this year and intends to dedicate a permanent facility in the Giardini for future national art and architecture exhibitions by 2007.

Under the leadership of China's Ministry of Culture, the organisers of the China Pavilion include Commissioner, Fan Di'an, Vice President, Central Academy of Art; curator, artist Cai Guo-Qiang, and assistant curator, Pi Li, Central Academy of Art. Artists in the inaugural China Pavilion exhibition, Virgin Garden: Emersion, include Yung Ho Chang, Liu Wei, Peng Yu & Sun Yuan, Wang Qiheng and Xu Zhen.

The premier China Pavilion marks a turning point in political, economic and cultural growth within Chinese contemporary art, and underscores the increasing influence of Chinese creative practitioners on the international artistic and architectural community.

Virgin Garden: Emersion and exhibiting artists explore notions of spirituality and essence - while recognising the inherent challenges in articulating such intangible life forces with visual art - by employing elements of Chinese philosophy and culture to frame the dialogue. The inaugural China Pavilion consists of two spaces, adjacent interior and exterior venues. The interior, a former naval oil storage facility, is in the Arsenale complex near the ferry shuttle dock and features Xu Zhen's video installation, Shout, and Liu Wei's light installation, Star. The outdoor, adjacent site, Vergini Garden, is bridged to the interior by architect Yung Ho Chang's open bamboo canopy, bamboo shoots, fabricated by traditional Chinese bamboo artisans and designed as a refuge for visitors after extended Arsenale viewing. Also in the courtyard is artist team Sun Yuan and Peng Yu's sculptural installation, Unidentified Flying Object, 2005, a UFO built by Chinese peasants, and Wang Qiheng's Fengshui Project for Venice, a fengshui analysis of the National Pavilion complex for the future, permanent China Pavilion

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