Asian Heritage Month, which has been celebrated throughout the United States for 25 years and which NYU observes every April, will kick off on campus tomorrow with an opening ceremony in the Kimmel Center's room 914 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The month, nationally called Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, will feature, among other activities, a discussion of South Asia and international affairs on April 7, a Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu martial-arts demonstration on April 10, and a Korean traditional drumming concert in Washington Square Park on April 17.

Students caught a preview of the month-long celebration when the Chinese Culture Club opened the photo exhibition 'China Impression' Monday evening at Kimmel.

The exhibition began a series of four cultural seminars called 'Another Horizon: Cosmopolitans in Modern China' that will focus on contemporary China and Chinese urban life. The next three Friday evenings will feature photo exhibitions and seminars on Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

'Today, there are a lot of changes going on within China,' club president Yan Xiao said. 'We'd like to present a true picture of modern China to the Americans and people from other parts of the world. The five-night cultural tour would help them see China as it is and change their misconceptions about the country.'

Some students said they didn't know much about China's development over the past 20 years before they attended the exhibition.

'I am amazed to have a totally different perception of China by seeing photos of the country and its people,' said Mark Gortfried, who works for a real estate company in Chinatown. 'Before I came to the exhibition, I was still thinking about China as a communist country in Chairman Mao's era. What I see today is very beautiful and very different from what I learn about the country from the media.'

Some American scholars in Asian studies are also limited in their scope of Chinese history, said Xudong Zhang, professor of East Asian studies and comparative literature at NYU.

'They usually regard China as a historical museum,' Zhang said. 'Instead of paying more attention to nowadays Chinese culture and society, they are only interested in China before the Qing dynasty was founded in 1644.'

The exhibition features photos of more than 10 regions in China.

Three of the main photographers were invited to the opening ceremony to tell the stories behind their pictures.

'I have been to many places in Europe and the United States, but it's only in the country where I grew up that I'm able to shoot a picture that excites me and touches the heart of my folks,' said photographer Linda Mao, who has lived in the United States for almost 10 years.

Though this exhibit was focused on China and Taiwain, Asian Heritage Month will feature other events which focus on a variety of Asian countries.