China Meets Greece in Athens

The soft-spoken, beautiful Chinese artist’s voice started to tremble just a bit, her eyes softening and her smile glowed. It was a special day, the opening day of the Athens exhibition of her ink paintings called China Meets Greece.

    Hi, I'm Elena! Thanks for reading my blog. With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and travel industry, I hold a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management and a Master’s Degree in Hospitality & Tourism Leadership. As a Greece expert, I’ve spent years exploring the country in depth, uncovering its hidden gems and authentic experiences. I also worked for five years as a Destination Development Consultant for an American boutique travel agency, where I played a key role in developing Greece, Spain, and Portugal as travel destinations. My deep industry knowledge, hands-on experience, and passion for immersive travel ensure that every recommendation I share is trusted, insightful, and curated with expertise. I hope that you find my content useful, in case you have any questions please feel free to reach out. I'll be happy to help you. 

The crowd that gathered Saturday afternoon at the Grecotel Pallas Athena were a mix of Chinese living in Greece, media members, Travel Bloggers Greece members and art lovers. We listened to the her speech, an explanation of inspiration behind her work that interprets not only Chinese culture but inspirational scenes of Greek nature and culture. Lin’s brush paintings featured shuimo technique (ink and wash) on paper (zuan zhi) in black ink.

the artist — her big day in athens, qinghua (ioanna) lin

chinese art influence — chinese xinjiang dance by ioanna lin

Lin, a Chinese expat living in Athens, earned a Masters Degree of Fine Arts from Quangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and has taught painting, illustration and design. Wearing a stylish, traditional Chinese dress she addressed us mostly in Chinese which was interpreted by a Greek into Greek. I loved how the two hardest languages were part of this special art event. We English speakers have the expression, “It’s Greek to me!” and Greeks have the expression, “It’s Chinese to me!” when something is incomprehensible.

    Transparency is important to us! This article contains some affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. Your support helps us continue sharing in-depth travel guides, insider tips, and inspiring stories from around the world. Every click and purchase helps keep this website running, and for that, we are truly grateful. Thank you for being part of our journey!

translating chinese to greek! — love the chinese and greek language spoken at china meets greece!

Well, the understanding for the appreciation and love for art has always been universal. The confluence of European and Asian culture in the heart of Athens was made possible in part by fellow members of Travel Bloggers Greece, Eley Yuan and Kevin Miao. Kevin and Eley are Chinese expats living in Greece and the masterminds behind Meet Culture, a culture and travel blog about Greek and Chinese culture.

with the founders of meet culture — we’re so proud of kevin and eley of meet culture

the travel bloggers greece crew — the tbg team poses with the wonderful artist, ioanna lin

After a round of congratulations, the Grecotel Pallas Athena served up a delicious buffet brunch featuring both Chinese and Greek cuisine in honor of the opening of the painting exhibit.

I loved Lin’s interpretation of the Greek landscape, very unique and beautiful. This painting is called Meteora.

chinese in greek art — meteora by ioanna lin

The fine touch of Chinese artistry created a scene of the famous Greek village known for its monasteries set almost inaccessible sandstone peaks. Much of her paintings were based on the simple, soft colors and depict relaxing scenes of everyday life.

beautiful artwork — scenes of life by ioanna lin

The description of the event said it very well:

“All of her work reflects the sincere, happy and bright side of life of Ioanna in her attempt to blend two civilizations, worlds, traditions and cultures. Pure joy, ultimate zen!”