President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China is being remembered with an exhibit at South Coast Plaza that shows its historic importance and what it did to open the doors of cultural exchange between the countries.
The Richard Nixon Foundation, which supports the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, is collaborating with the plaza and other area cultural institutions to present “The Week That Changed the World: Nixon, China and the Arts.”
Nixon was the first U.S. president to visit China.
“‘The Week that Changed the World’ exhibit tells the story of the forward-thinking leadership of President Nixon and the leaders of the People’s Republic of China that resulted in the peace, progress, prosperity and cultural exchange shared between the people of both nations today,” said Jonathan Movroydis, director of research for the Nixon Foundation.
The 2,300-square-foot multimedia exhibit features archival photos and videos of the 1972 trip to China, declassified documents, Nixon’s yellow writing pads and a video that tells the story of how Nixon was able to open communications with China.
The exhibit will be on display through Aug. 18 in South Coast Plaza’s Jewel Court.
“The time was right to mount such an exhibition, given the influx of Chinese visitors in Southern California and the library’s plans to unveil its own exhibit specifically focusing on the visit to China,” Movroydis said.
The new China exhibit will be part a major $15 million renovation of the library’s permanent galleries, which have been closed since Nov. 1 and will reopen in October.
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