Vice President of Sri Lanka's John Keells Group Dileep Mudadeniya reacts during an interview with Xinhua in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 8, 2019. Mudadeniya, who will be attending the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, told Xinhua that Sri Lanka looks forward to promoting cultural ties between China and Sri Lanka through live arts, performing arts and other forms of arts. (Xinhua/Zhu Ruiqing)

COLOMBO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka looks forward to learning from China about making cultural shows, as China has gained international reputation for putting up magnificent shows across the country, CEO of Cinnamon Life Mall and Vice President of Sri Lanka's John Keells Group, Dileep Mudadeniya told Xinhua in an interview.

Mudadeniya, who will be attending the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing later this month, told Xinhua Wednesday that during the conference, he would advocate for China's help in holding the island's first musical manifestation in the ancient city of Sigiriya, in the Central lowlands, which will tell Sigiriya's story in a musical form.

"They had the technology, and knowhow," Mudadeniya said, "so I would advocate for China's help to have Sri Lanka's first ever musical manifestation of Sigiriya's story for tourists... We need such attractions for people to come and this basically will allow Sri Lankans to perform and preserve their arts and tell a story from a cultural perspective."

With culture acting as a strong magnet between countries, Mudadeniya said Sri Lanka had a lot to learn from China in how they portrayed themselves through cultural events.

Speaking of the cultural link between the two countries, the corporate executive said it dates back thousands of years and from there, the relationship between the two countries had emerged in a positive manner.

"Compatibility has helped us emerge as one of the favorite destinations in Asia among the Chinese travelers," he said.

Hailing the strong cultural ties between the two countries, Mudadeniya said that Sri Lanka looks forward to promoting these ties through live arts, performing arts and other forms of arts.

Mudadeniya said they were in discussions with the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka to support them in some of these projects.

Mudadeniya appreciated China's assistance in building Sri Lanka's first international theater which now enables Sri Lanka to stage international shows.

With tourist arrivals seeing a decline following the Easter Sunday terror explosions, Mudadeniya said he was confident that Sri Lankan tourism would bounce back within eight to 10 months.