Edinburgh Forges Closer Links With Beijing

Chinese and Scottish capitals come together to celebrate close tourism ties and cultural collaboration

This week a major tourism body responsible for promoting the Chinese capital, Beijing as an iconic global and cultural destination, visited Edinburgh with the hope of forming a stronger alliance between the two cities. The occasion was marked by staging a series of events in the Scottish capital to showcase the cultural significance and impact of Beijing, as one of the world’s great historical cities.

‘Charming Beijing’ in Edinburgh’s Festival Square

The Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau hosted ‘Charming Beijing’ in Edinburgh’s Festival Square to highlight a number of events synonymous with Chinese culture, including a traditional and vibrant Dragon Dance display, operatic costumes from the world-famous Beijing Opera and an impressive photo exhibition divided into five themes: ancient capital Beijing, fashionable Beijing, modern Beijing, cultural Beijing and Beijing Forbidden City.

This fully displayed the profound cultural and historical significance of Beijing, and demonstrated the enormous vitality and rapid development of this ancient city.

Mr MA Wen, Deputy Inspector of Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau was amongst several dignitaries who flew to Edinburgh to attend the event and cut the ceremonial ribbon at the launch of ‘Charming Beijing’.

Mr MA Wen, Deputy Inspector of Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau

He said “It is a great pleasure to share Beijing’s attractiveness with the people of Edinburgh and on behalf of the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the City of Edinburgh for supporting this precious event.

Similar to Edinburgh’s historical and cultural ties being at the forefront of Scotland’s history, Beijing, too, carries much of China’s ancient history and culture. Both of our cities play a significant role in the dialogue between history and civilization and these intertwine us as iconic destinations. To hold a photo exhibition highlighting Beijing’s culture and tourism in Edinburgh, is also to hold an exchange between two exceptional cities.”

To further enhance communication with the local people and bring them closer to Beijing’s unique folk culture, many interactive activities were organized by The Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, such as a VR (Virtual Reality) experience, lantern painting and learning to write Chinese characters. Through their hands-on practice at the exhibition, people in Edinburgh will have gained a better understanding of Beijing and its cultural charm.

According to records, Britain is one of the most important overseas markets for Beijing. Each year, about 180 thousand to 200 thousand visitors from Britain travel to Beijing, accounting for approximately 4-5% of Beijing’s inbound visitors. The Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau selected Edinburgh as the UK’s key cultural centre and tourist destination, together with its huge influence as a global tourism destination.

Edinburgh joins a select group of global cities visited by the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau to promote ‘Charming Beijing’, including Manila in The Philippines, Bucharest, Romania, and Tokyo, Japan.