Inscription by Jiang Zemin during a Short Stop in San Francisco on His Visit to the Apec Leaders’ Summit in 1993

When the U.S. first hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in 1993, it was held in Seattle. Jiang Zemin, the President of China of the time, visited San Francisco on his stopover flight to attend this summit and meet then-President Bill Clinton. Jiang inscribed this calligraphic work on his short visit to the old Asian Art Museum at Golden Gate Park. He encouraged the museum to promote East Asian art and enhance the friendship of peoples of different countries. During Jiang’s presidency, China sent several important Chinese art exhibitions to the US, including Tomb Treasures from China (1994), the first Qin terracotta warriors exhibition that traveled to San Francisco. When he worked in San Francisco’s sister city Shanghai, Jiang also gifted the city a historic Taihu rock, which used to be at the San Francisco International Airport and is now on display in our museum’s rear garden (see images below).