By Jieyu Wang, iChongqing News
Chongqing —“Chongqing is so beautiful. I’d love to go there,” said Nathan, a London resident, in the London city hall square at the opening ceremony of the 5th UK-China food festival. The city show “Moments with Chongqing” let residents experience the natural beauty and cultural appeal of Chongqing.
Xue Zhu recommended Chongqing Hot Pot in the 5th UK-China food festival.
The City Show “Moments with Chongqing” launched at London Potters Field Park on August 30. Xue Zhu, the head of the delegation, Vice-Minister of Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing, reviewed the historical relationship as well as the current cooperation in the economy between Chongqing and London on the opening ceremony of the city show. Xue Zhu also invited the world to attend the Western China Tourism Industry Expo 2020 and Smart China Expo 2020 in the speech.
The photo exhibition at the city show of "Moments with Chongqing"
In the opening ceremony of the 5th UK-China food festival, Nanan district and Wulong district also promoted their cultural tourism to the British public.
“Wulong is a city with more than 1,400 years of history. The lengthy history and rich culture of Wulong deeply stunned me,” said Alisa, a London resident. When many British citizens learned that the place where Optimus Prime tamed the robot dinosaur in the Transformers movie was located in Wulong, they said that is a beautiful place.
The “Legend of Dayu,” which happened in Nanan district, is also of great interest to visitors from all over the world.
“We used Noah’s Ark to escape the flood, and the Chinese tried to combat the flood. This is great,” Nathan said.
The group photo of the delegation of Experiencing Chongqing· city promotion tour and the UK representative.
Tang Shi, the organizer of the 5th UK-China festival, said, “I’m from Chongqing. It’s my honor to let the UK people know more about my hometown, and Chongqing is a modern city with humanistic atmosphere, where appeals to the British. The food festival attracts many tourists every year.”
It is reported that the City Show “Moments with Chongqing” will also be exhibited in Bournemouth of the UK, and Dusseldorf, and Frankfurt, Germany, and other places.
The Speech at the Opening Ceremony of City Show “Moments with Chongqing” in London, UK
Delivered by Xue Zhu, Standing Vice-Minister of Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, we hold the City Show of “Moments with Chongqing” and the “London Chinese Food Festival” in the beautiful Potters Fields Park. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Organizing Committee of the London Chinese Food Festival for its meticulous preparation! I also would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all of our distinguished guests and friends for joining the City Show of “Chongqing Time”!
Chongqing and London, though thousands of miles apart, share profound ties. As early as 1891, the British Consulate-General was formally established in Chongqing. The Chinese name of first Consul-General named “Lu Fu Li,” which implies great wealth and good luck, and well-educated and well-mannered character. During the second world war, Chongqing, like London, was the command center of the world anti-fascist war. Though being battered during the war, it demonstrated indomitable strength and unyielding spirit. Because of this, Chongqing is regarded as a city of Hero. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Britain was the first country to set up a consulate general in Chongqing. Today, with direct international flights between London and Chongqing, the economic, trade, people-to-people, and cultural exchanges have become more frequent. Chongqing established a friendship with Leicester as early as 1993. In 2018, Chongqing’s total exports to the UK reached 640 million pounds, with 87 British companies being settled in Chongqing. In addition, Chongqing and Wales are jointly building a research and development center for compound semiconductors.
In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the UK, ushering in a “golden era” in China-British relations. Chongqing, surrounded by mountains and rivers and sandwiched between gorges and rivers, is a city with 3,000-years-of-history. Like London, it is a fashion capital as well as a cultural city. At present, in accordance with President Xi Jinping’s development orientation, Chongqing is speeding up the construction of an open inland highland and a beautiful city of mountains and waters, and promoting the high-quality development to create a better life. Chongqing has set up 19 state-level open platforms, conducted economic and trade exchanges with 224 countries and regions, forged an international friendship with 45 cities, and implemented “72-hour visa-free transit” for 53 countries. The Three Gorges and Dazu Stone Carvings are a must for tourists from home and abroad. As a livable, business-friendly, and tourist-friendly city, Chongqing is becoming one of the most attractive cities in China.
History connects us together, yet reality brings us closer. Shakespeare said, “Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.” And we all know that charity is also a traditional quality of the Chinese people. At today’s London Chinese Food Festival, we’re offered a chance to share “Chongqing Time” together while tasting fine wines and delicacies like liquor from Chongqing’s “Jiang Xiaobai,” and Chongqing’s famous “Dezhuang Hot Pot.” With food and cultural exchanges, we hope that we can further enhance our understanding and communication. Just as the Scottish people sing: how can we forget our old friends, our friendship lasts forever.
As one Chinese saying goes, “It is better to see it once than hear about it a hundred times.” Finally, I sincerely welcome all the guests and friends to visit Chongqing to appreciate the stunning scenery, taste delicious food, and witness the development of Chongqing.
Thank you!
Related links:
“Moments With Chongqing” Promotion Tour Will Land in the UK and Germany