‘The week that changed the world’: South Coast Plaza exhibit explores Nixon’s visit to China

“The week that changed the world,” as President Nixon called his historic 1972 trip to China, was a step in normalizing relations with the communist nation.

The seven-day visit marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the People’s Republic of China, and it ended 25 years of separation between the countries.

This moment in diplomatic relations is being recognized at South Coast Plaza in an exhibition that also celebrates Chinese art and culture. It is being presented by the Costa Mesa shopping center, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum and renowned arts institutions including Carnegie Hall and The Getty.

“The Week That Changed The World: Nixon, China and the Arts” will be on display through Aug. 18 at South Coast Plaza’s Jewel Court.

The 2,300-square-foot multimedia exhibition features a yin yang circular design displaying photos and videos from Nixon’s trip along with information about Chinese arts, culture, music and theater.

“We’re trying to tell a story,” said Bill Baribault, president of the Richard Nixon Foundation during a private preview June 23.

While the permanent galleries of the library and museum in Yorba Linda are being renovated, visitors will have the opportunity to see at the exhibition what will be featured at the new Nixon library, which will open to the public Oct. 14.

The private preview launched with a ribbon cutting ceremony and performers dressed in traditional Chinese garb walking on stilts. Liu Jian, China’s consul general in Los Angeles, remarked that the interactive exhibit reflected a new history that developed half a century ago.

Robert Sun, chairman of the Los Angeles-based trade group the American-Chinese CEO Society, said, “This visit made a change for the world, and without that, people like us would not be here,” Sun said.

For more information, call (714) 435-2000 or visit southcoastplaza.com.

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Kathleen Luppi, kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi