It all started with fish

She also publishes books to introduce her collections of Chinese folk toys. Photo provided to China Daily

Zakharova remembers a message left by a boy visitor, saying he would like to do whatever is needed to please the pot-bellied smiling grandfather of longevity. He said he likes it so much that he would be glad to bring it with him wherever he goes, even in class.

"Through the exhibition, Russian people get to know Chinese culture in a playful way."

The success of the exhibition encouraged Zakharova. In the following decades, she went on to publish her first book My Chinese Toy, recalling each piece of the toys she collected. "Each toy is a unique encounter," she says.

In 2005, Zakharova and her husband Vladimir Zakharov, then SCO's deputy secretary-general, initiated an arts event and exhibition titled Children Draw Fairy Tales.

The project, aimed at promoting understanding between the next generations among SCO countries, invited children to read fairy tales of another country, and then retell the tales through drawings which would be featured in the exhibition.

Over the past eight years, the project has toured a total of 18 cities in SCO member states, including Moscow, Astana, Tashkent, Bishkek and Dushanbe.

"There was a very cold evening in the winter, and I had to bring bags full of folk toys to one school. I was so cold and tired that I couldn't help asking myself 'why?' but then before I had entered the classroom, I heard the children cry out 'Oh, the Chinese folk toys are coming! Ura!!' and I felt so happy at the moment. They were waiting for me, for the toys!

"Children are the future, and the future of the world depends on how we foster our children."

In 2008, Zakharova published her second book, written with her husband in a cheerful and playful tone, introducing the history, culture and folk art of China.

"Most of the previous projects would have been impossible without the support from my family. The program we organized and all the books we wrote are the common interest of my family, my husband, my daughter and me," says Zakharova, who is now a senior associate with the aesthetic education center Museyon at Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

"It is very important for a family to have a shared interest."