The Goethe Institute was the first Western Cultural Institute established in Beijing. It was created twenty years ago under the auspices of the German government. Michael Kahn Ackermann, the founder and incumbent general president of the institute has seen vast changes over two decades. As Goethe Beijing turns 20 this year, we asked Ackermann to reflect on the last two decades.

The newsreel was shot in October, 1984 during Deng Xiaoping's meeting with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. A bold suggestion was raised at the meeting--to establish a German cultural center in China. Today. it was widely known as the Goethe Institute China.

The Goethe Institute was foundered on November 1st, 1988. It was in the library of the Beijing Foreign Studies University. Despite its confined space, the center marked a milestone as the first Western culture center in socialist China. The facility offers only German language classes. But the classes are presented in a way to foster knowledge about Germany. The Chinese public has learned the names of Goethe, Beethoven and Hegel while attending classes here.

Kahn Ackermann was among the first group of overseas students in China in 1975. He's a sinologist. Since the 1980s, Kahn Ackermann has devoted himself to the translation of modern and contemporary Chinese literature into German. He's introduced notable writers such as Lao She and Zhang Jie. He married a Chinese woman, drinks Pu'er tea and speaks Chinese.

As Goethe Beijing turned 20 it found a new home in Beijing's Zhongguancun area. The facilities were expanded. There are free screenings of avante-garde films from German directors Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The much sought-after films and rare silent copies are available in the center.

Here, visitors can read Thomas Mann, jive to German jazz and become immersed in the beauty of a Pina Baush dance. Dialogues on the exchange of cultures are regularly organized. Chinese artists are invited to open solo shows in Germany. The facility plans a dramatic screening of Love is Colder Than Death. The film, by German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder has been adapted as a Chinese drama, by the renowned director Meng Jinghui.

The Goethe Institute gradually evolved from a window on German culture to a bridge linking China to Europe.

Kahn Ackermann published a book titled "In and Outside the Gate" thirty years ago, when he first set foot here. He said if he were to write another book, he would name it "Outside the Gate of China". Despite living in China for thirty years, the modest man said he is still a laymen to the profound Chinese culture. More often than not, he marvels at the speed at which China grows.

Shortly after the opening of the Goethe Institute, the French Cultural Center and Cervantes Institutes were set up successively.

Reform and opening up have brought in a continuous flow of entertainment. Chinese people now watch European blockbusters at the same time as audiences the world over. They attend Turandot and the performances of the Three Tenors at the Forbidden City. Broadway musicals extend their world tour to include Beijing and Shanghai.

As international troupes makes their Chinese debuts, Chinese indigenous culture is stepping on to the world stage.