The China Film Festival held in Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, on April 26-27, was a tribute to the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China and a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic visit to Pakistan.

Sitting among Chinese and Pakistani audience, watching films like The Wandering Earth and Great Love Dunhuang, I felt something electric: a hunger for shared dreams, for discovering each other anew through the timeless language of cinema.

It took me back to the 1970s, when Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat had overnight become a runaway hit across China. Posters of Pakistani actors were said to have been hung in shop windows, while the melodies of Pakistani love songs floated through Chinese cities. Art does that. It leaps over walls that politics can never scale.

Yet nostalgia alone cannot carry us forward. Under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif's leadership, Punjab is not content with occasional collaborations. We are laying the foundations for a modern, lasting cultural partnership with China.

This partnership needs to grow above occasional, filler events and delve into long-term, institution-driven exchange. Here's how Punjab is moving forward:

Punjab-China Cultural Corridor: This will be more than symbolic. It will consist of year-round artist exchanges, literary collaborations, film co-productions and shared exhibitions. We envision the artisans of Multan, one of Punjab's cultural hubs, demonstrating their craft in Shanghai and Chinese calligraphers inspiring a new generation in Lahore.

Technology and Co-Production Partnerships: Punjabi folk epics, spiritual legends and contemporary urban tales are ripe for world-class adaptations. Combined with China's expertise in animation and visual effects, we can create cinematic works that resonate across continents.

Rotating Cultural Festivals: We are proposing a Lahore-Shanghai Cultural Festival, alternating between cities each year. Rising above performances, it will feature interactive masterclasses, artist residencies and storytelling contests; building a rhythm of creativity and connection that endures.

Cultural Education and Exchange Programs: Future generations must carry this bridge forward. That's why we will launch cultural internship programs, dual-degree options between universities and long-term artist residencies. Imagine a Chinese calligrapher absorbing Lahore's rich artistic history for six months, or a Punjabi filmmaker studying narrative techniques in Xi'an.

It's easy to talk about diplomacy in the language of trade deals and political communiqués. But real, lasting partnerships are built when a Lahori child hums a Chinese folk tune, or a young girl in Chengdu dances to Bhangra beats she saw in a short film. Culture is not an accessory to governance; it is its heartbeat. It is how we teach empathy, bridge misunderstandings and offer a richer vision of who we are—and what we can become together.

Across Punjab, culture is being treated as the living, breathing force it is: a source of dignity, identity, and economic power. For too long, culture was shelved as a luxury. Today, it is front and center where it rightfully belongs.

One of the most striking lessons Punjab's chief minister took from China was how the government there had made it a point to keep its civilization alive. Impressed by young Chinese artists reclaiming their heritage, not in dusty museums, but through modern reinterpretations, including but not limited to hip-hop fused with ancient poetry; animated films about Silk Road explorers, and traditional dance on digital platforms, she wishes to see Punjab's youth reimagine their roots, to tell ancient stories through graphic novels, short films and digital media.

Under this vision, Punjab's creative economy is stirring from its long slumber.

Here is an invitation from Punjab to China, and to the world: Come walk with us through the poetry of Bulleh Shah, the colors of Basant and the music of dhol beats under open skies. Come build with us corridors not of concrete and steel alone, but of imagination, of laughter, of enduring trust. Because when we share our stories, we share something deeper than treaties. We share our humanity. And there is no greater diplomacy than that.

The author is the provincial minister for information and culture in Punjab, Pakistan 

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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