ATTACHMENT C

ATTACHMENT C

REPORT ON 2010 CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVAL MEDIA DELEGATION VISIT TO , 24 JANUARY – 1 FEBRUARY 2010

ATTACHMENT C

Councillor Robert Kok

City of Sydney

Report on 2010 Chinese New Year Festival Media Delegation visit to Chongqing, China

24 January – 1 February 2010

Councillor Robert Kok – City of Sydney

Jeff Lewis – Communications Manager, Office of the Lord Mayor

Sasha Baroni – Senior Manager, Events

Media Delegation Members

• Carleen Frost – Journalist, Cumberland Newspaper Group

• William Fisher – Journalist, Australian Associated Press

• Josephine Tovey – Urban Affairs Reporter, Sydney Morning Herald

• Carmel Melouney – Journalist, Sunday Telegraph

• Joshua Martin – Senior Journalist, Network 10

• Matthew Marsic – Camera Operator, Network 10

ATTACHMENT C

INTRODUCTION

From 24 January – 1 February 2010, I travelled to Chongqing, China with a delegation of media and City of Sydney staff members on the invitation of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government to cover Chongqing’s preparation for the participation in the Chinese New Year Festival and to give Chongqing media coverage prior to their arrival in Sydney. This will also serve to strengthen cultural and economic relationships between the Cities. I was accompanied by the City’s Communications Manager, Mr Jeff Lewis and Senior Program Manager, Ms Sasha Baroni.

Mr. Vice Mayor Tan Qiwei and Deputy Director General, Ms. Wang Yin from the Information Office of the Chongqing People’s Municipal Government invited me to lead the media delegation. The Chongqing Municipal People’s Government had generously covered all the delegation’s travel and accommodation expenses for the media delegation and me to participate. This is in recognition of the good relations which began on the initial meeting when I made a side trip to Chongqing whilst attending the Sister Cities Conference in Guangzhou in November. Whilst there, much discussion was centred on their ideas and suggestions for their participation.

I believe also that the reason behind the invitation is to learn more about Chongqing's development on economy, culture and society before the 2010 Chinese New Year celebration begins. Since Chongqing was to send a large volume of delegation to Australia, they believe in the importance of public knowledge and understanding of the two cities.

In Chongqing, our delegation was welcomed and received by Chongqing Information Office and Chongqing Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. They visited several governmental departments such as Chongqing Administration of Culture, Radio & Television, Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Committee, Chongqing Education Committee, and Chongqing Tourism Bureau, where we were briefed on issues such as the economy, education and tourism development of Chongqing, as well as the history and intangible cultural heritage of Chongqing.

2 ATTACHMENT C Chongqing is a major city in central-western China. Administratively, it is one of the People's Republic of China's four provincial-level municipalities, and the only such municipality in western China. The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province.

The municipality of Chongqing has a registered population of 31,442,300 as of 2005. The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much farther into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, and ), and much of its administrative area, which spans over 80 000 km², is rural. It has jurisdiction over 19 districts, 17 counties, and four autonomous counties. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was 5.09 million (2000).

Chongqing was also a municipality of the Republic of China administration, serving as its wartime capital during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the Yangtze River.

3 ATTACHMENT C Day 1 – Monday 25 January

11.00am Briefing at the Australian Embassy Beijing

• H E Dr Geoff Raby – Ambassador

• Graeham Meahan – Minister/Head of Mission

• Jill Collins – Public Affairs & Culture

• Dan Clary – Economic Affairs

We attend the Embassy and were met by Mr Meahan, Ms Collins and Mr Clary. We were given a briefing on Chongqing. The Australian Ambassador HE Dr Geoff Raby was not able to meet us at this time due to a last minute meeting which he had to attend to, however Mr Meahan gave an introduction to Chongqing and a political summary and Ms Collins took us through the cultural affairs with Mr Clary going through the economic rise of Chongqing.

H E Dr Raby was able to meet with us after lunch at another venue he was at. He was kind enough to take some time from his busy schedule to take us through a very insightful understanding to Chongqing, its political landscape and its relations with Australia especially in this instance with Sydney. He was very pleased that Chongqing is to participate in Sydney Chinese New Year Festival as he sees tremendous benefits on trade and economic exchange brought on by this initial cultural exchange. Chongqing has a lot to offer and already there has been some Australian success stories emanating out from there most notably Eastern Elevators run by a husband and wife team from Sydney which has grown to being the second largest elevator company in China.

After our brief meeting with Dr Raby we headed off to the airport to catch our flight to Chongqing.

The delegation was met at the airport by the officials from the Chongqing Foreign and Overseas Affairs Office.

We arrived at the hotel nearly 11pm so our dinner was of a short one so that we could get some rest as we had a full schedule lined up for the next day’s program.

4 ATTACHMENT C Day 2 – Tuesday 26 January

We met our host, Mrs Wang Yin, who is the Deputy Director General of the Information Office of the Chongqing People’s Municipal Government, and her staff,

We were informed that the new Mayor of Chongqing will be appointed today.

Visited:

• Chongqing People’s Grand Hall • Chongqing China • Chongqing Huguang Guild Hall • Chongqing Planning Exhibition Gallery • Ciqikou ancient town • Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office

The first place of interest we were taken to was the Chongqing People’s Grand Hall, which is Chongqing’s Town Hall. We were not allowed inside as it was closed but only on the able to see it from the outside. It had a very large square in the front where people gathered to do their early morning Tai Chi exercises and children played. It was very bustling.

The Three Gorges Museum was just a few minutes’ drive away and this visit gave us an understanding of the Three Gorges, the significance of it and history. It is one of Chongqing’s main attractions.

The Planning Exhibition Gallery which was also in the same building showcases the history and future of the City’s plans and development. It has a scale model of the entire Chongqing border and models of planned developments. We could see the city is developing very rapidly. There were also plans for 5 metro lines to be built and the goal is to connect every satellite city of small prefecture with a metro line thus giving the entire population access to good and reliable public transport.

Next stop was a brief visit at an ancient 1000-year-old town in the Shapingba of Chongqing called Ciqikou. It is otherwise known as Small Chongqing. The town, located at the lower reaches of the Jialing River, was at one time an important source of Chinawares and used to be a busy

5 ATTACHMENT C commercial dock during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. This is a town on the side of a mountain.

One thing which strikes any visitor is the topography of Chongqing which is very hilly and mountainous. Due to the two rivers running through it, Chongqing has China’s highest number of bridges.

Therefore this ancient town was built on the side of the hill and overlooks the Jialing River.

After this we visited the Foreign Affairs Office where we met Mr. Wang Jun, the Director General of Chongqing Administration of Culture, Radio & Television, who gave a briefing on cultural industry, cultural exchange and the preparation work for cultural events between Chongqing and Australia in February.

6 ATTACHMENT C Day 3 – Wednesday 27 January

Visited:

• Eling Park: the site of former Australian legation in war times • Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe • Chongqing Art and Civilization Insitute to learn about Chongqing’s intangible cultural heritage and to watch local show by folk artisan • Hongyadong Cave • Tongliang County • Nanbin Road

The visit to Eling Park was significant as it has a history with Australia as it was the site of the former Australian legation. The plaque and the building were still intact. The then Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Stephen Smith also visited this park and left a memento of his hand prints.

We were then taken to visit the famous Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe which is to perform at the Parade during the Chinese New Year and also at the State Theatre.

This is an acrobatic school with students of all ages. The performance which is to be brought to Sydney is that of the story of Hua Mulan. The troupe performed a sequence from the show. It was very impressive and entertaining and all of us were very excited that this performance was coming to Sydney. After the performance the main characters were interviewed by the journalists and Network 10 made good coverage of this and it was in one of the aired segments. Central newspaper covered this story as well.

The next stop on our schedule was Tonglian County. This is where the famous Tonglian Dragon dance originates. This troupe will be coming to perform in the Parade. They have performed all over the world from Europe to the United States and also in many South East Asian countries. They performed at their indoor stadium hall. It was very colourful and exciting and well coordinated. All the performers from this group are volunteers and most of them are university students.

7 ATTACHMENT C Day 4 – Thursday 28 January

Visited:

• Chongqing New North Zone • Chongqing shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) • Chongqing hi-Tech super-Power Co., Ltd • Eastern Elevators

Some journalists indicated that they would like to visit other areas apart from the scheduled itinerary. Our hosts Mrs Wang Yin was kind enough to arrange for separate guides to take them around. The journalists had initially wanted to go on their own but due to language barrier and also with the heavy responsibility of the journalists’ well being it was best to have a guide take them around. The City proper has over 5 million people and English is not widely spoken so it is easy for a visitor in the city for the first time to get lost.

Some other journalists and I continued on with the set itinerary to the New North Zone which was a village without paved roads or infrastructure. In a jus 8 years it has been transformed into a high tech area of development with schools, housing and roads.

Mr. Chan Naiwen, the Deputy Secretary of the work committee of the New North Zone Administration hosted a briefing on New North Zone.

We also visited Foreign Trade and Economic Committee of Chongqing which was located there.

There we attended a briefing on foreign trade and economy in Chongqing led by Mr. Song Xiaoguo, the Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade and Economic Committee of Chongqing

Mr Song would come to Sydney and attend the Business Forum where he had organised for joint venture agreements with Chongqing corporations and companies in Sydney.

After the briefings we met Mr. Brian Hennesy, Australian author and commercial consultant of Chongqing Promotion & Service Center for Foreign Investment. He gave us a summary of the current business and commercial outlook in Chongqing and how foreign investments fared. He is based in

8 ATTACHMENT C Chongqing and has been there for a number of years. He was later interviewed by Network 10, the footage which was aired in the new coverage.

We then visited the Chongqing Hi-Tech Super-Power Co., Ltd a company which builds wind turbines for electricity generation. The technology is from Germany and now they are one of the world’s top producers. This factory capable of producing 500 turbines a year and at the moment demand in China itself is so strong that they have not been able to take any foreign orders. They also manufacture off shore and coastal wind turbines also for domestic consumption.

This was very impressive and Chongqing is very much aware of environmentally sustainable development and the use of wind turbines as alternative energy is widely promoted.

Unfortunately the media delegation was not allowed to take any footage of the factory as it was a private corporation and the technology was confidential.

The last stop was at Chongqing Eastern Elevators Co, a very successful company owned by an Australian couple from Sydney. We were briefed on the company by the Manager Mr Yang Long. It is the second largest elevator company in China and has grown tremendously with much support from the local economy and the local government. Initially the business venture was not able to garner any support in Australia, but became a success when the owners brought it to China. This is a very good example which shows that foreign investment is able to develop and grow together with a growing City.

The owner came to give a presentation at the Business Forum in Sydney.

9 ATTACHMENT C Day 5 – Friday 29 January

Visited:

• University Town • Campus tour on Chongqing Normal University • Chongqing Medical University

Today we visited Chongqing’s University Town, so called because there are a few universities located in this area.

We were met by Prof Hu Bin, Deputy Director of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and Prof Zhou Zeyan, President of Chongqing Normal University. Both Prof Hu and Prof Zhou gave us a briefing on the education sector of Chongqing and about the University.

We were also met by Prof Liu Jinping Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation & Exchange who took us on a tour of Chongqing Normal University and also the Chongqing medical University. There we met with some foreign students, from India and Pakistan and also Namibia. We discussed their life in Chongqing and how they adapted to living in China. All of them seem to enjoy living there and the convenience for them to go out to the city

Later we went back to prepare for a meeting with the newly appoint Mayor of Chongqing, Mr. Huang Qifan who was appointed on Monday.

Following a brief courtesy call with the Mayor, we joined other media teams from BBC and other countries such as Korea and Japan.

The Mayor gave a briefing on Chongqing to the journalist and our delegation were given an opportunity to pose some questions, one of which was by Network 10 on the viability of a metro for Sydney as Chongqing was also developing a few metro lines.

The media delegation was also cover by the local media, with one of the journalist appearing in the local newspaper the next day.

It was significant as it was the Mayor’s first news conference and although it was initially planned for just our media delegation, somehow the word got out

10 ATTACHMENT C and the BBC also requested for an interview and therefore it was then opened to all media.

11 ATTACHMENT C Day 6 – Saturday 30 January

Visited:

• Dazu County • (a UNESCO Heritage listed site) • Beidi Hot Spring resort

We had a briefing on Chongqing Tourism by Mr. Wang Aizu, the Director General of Chongqing Tourism Administration before setting off to Dazu County the site of the UNESCO Heritage listed Dazu Rock Carvings. This is a very historic site and one which is popular with the tourists.

The rock carvings in Dazu county, are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century A.D., depicting and influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. The Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs of Buddhism teachings and deities.

12 ATTACHMENT C Day 7 – Sunday 31 January

Visited:

• Wulong County • Wulong Natural Three Bridges (a UNESCO world heritage site) • Lunch at Yulong Restaurant

We also visited a Natural Heritage site which was also UNESCO listed, the Wulong Natural Three Bridges.

On our final night in Chongqing an official dinner was hosted for us by Mr He Shizhong, Chief of Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Committee. Also present was Mr Zhao Bo, Director General of Information Office of Chongqing Municipality, Mrs Wang Yin, Mr Zhang Haiqing and other Government officials.

We discussed the delegation’s visit to Chongqing and the various places we visited. Mr He indicated the Chongqing was not only very enthusiastic and keen to participate in the Chinese New Year Festival but also sees this as a start to a long term friendship between the two cities. He expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude on behalf of Chongqing on the success of this media delegation visit.

In conclusion this visit has achieved the results which Chongqing was hoping for which is for the journalists to bring back an understanding of the culture and life in Chongqing and also more importantly build a bridge of friendship between the two cities whereby trade and economic exchange can flow from.

The journalists wrote 4 articles introducing Chongqing when they got back to Sydney, and Network 10 produced a 10-minute long report which was aired on 3 consecutive nights on prime time news.

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