6 December 2017
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong visited Edinburgh yesterday on the first full day of her official visit to the UK as part of the on-going People to People dialogue between China and the UK, established in 2012.
Alongside Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Madame Liu attended Shaping Cultural Landscapes, an event presented by the British Council and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China.
Held at the Scottish National Gallery, the event brought together a delegation of senior cultural, policy and political leaders from China with their UK counterparts to take part in a series of forums across three topics:
- Reimagining the City: reinventing our cities through culture and art creativity
- Futures Past: bringing cultural heritage to life in the 21st century
- Festival of the People: placing community at the heart of the festival
Reimagining the City focused on how the creative industries can nurture artistic, economic and social progress in urban spaces, with contributions from Nick Gibbs of The Illuminated River project in London; Bryan Beattie, Bid Director of Dundee 2023; Mr. Zhang Genming, Hangzhou West Lake District Committee; and Ms. Yu Xiufen, Director-General, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV.
In Futures Past, Dr Lyn Wilson, Historic Environment Scotland and Sharon Grenville, National Museums Liverpool discussed the importance of cultural heritage with Mr. Yang Zhigang, Director of the Shanghai Museum and Mr Sun Xuguang, Director of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum.
Festival of the People saw Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh lead a discussion between Fergus Linehan, Edinburgh International Festival; Shona McCarthy, Edinburgh Fringe Festival; John McGrath, Manchester International Festival; Catherine J. Wang, Shanghai International Arts Festival; Mr.Fan Xing, Founder and General Secretary, Xiqu (Chinese Opera) Black Box Festival and Star Theaters.
Madame Liu was also given a tour of the Scottish National Gallery by Chris Breward, Director of Collection and Research, and Patricia Allerston, Deputy Director.
In other engagements held in Edinburgh, Madam Liu received the degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Edinburgh, and discussed regional cooperation between Scotland and China in a meeting chaired by Ms Hyslop and attended by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
