Fourteen local residents and business leaders had a very successful trip to Weihai, Cheltenham’s Chinese twin town at the beginning of April. Their aim was to promote Cheltenham from a business and educational point of view. It is hoped the self funded trip will have created excellent business, educational and tourism relationships.
The trip included visits to:
- The Weihai campus of the Harbin Institute of Technology
- Wego Group – a large manufacturer and direct supplier of medical equipment
- Weihai Jiguan Kindergarten and Huancui International Middle School
- The Sunshine Centre, training adults with learning difficulties to achieve employment and return to their families
- Liugong Island, with a trip to see the pandas.
The Mayor of Cheltenham said that the visit gave a great insight into the wonderful cultural differences between Cheltenham and Weihai which would help develop the twinning link and the Chief Executive said that despite the vast difference in population of the two towns, the visit enabled the group to build good relations in person and to set the agenda for working together in the future. Representatives from Gloucestershire College and Cheltenham Ladies College also took part in the visit and made valuable links.
Look in the Weihai photo gallery for pictures of the visit.
Anyone interested in establishing links with Weihai should contact twinning@cheltenham.gov.uk
Cheltenham Twinning Association 