ABOUT US
The Weihai Link was set up in 1985 'to promote trade, academic, cultural and friendship links between the peoples of Weihai and Cheltenham, and to extend these links throughout Gloucestershire.'
What do we do?
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Support the twinning link between Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, and Weihai in Shandong Province, China. This began in 1987 and continues to thrive.
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Welcome visitors to Cheltenham from Weihai. There have been many visitors, including an official delegation in May 2012 to the Olympic Torch event at Cheltenham Racecourse, and annual parties of school students who come to Gloucestershire College's Summer Schools to improve their English.
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Encourage visitors to Weihai from Cheltenham, most recently in April 2012 when the Mayor of Cheltenham Cllr. Barbara Driver led a party from the town to visit Weihai at their own expense. We have provided practical and financial support to a local student who was studying in China.
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Hold evening meetings to hear about various aspects of Chinese life, culture and history.
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Have an annual meal to celebrate Chinese New Year, and a summer Garden Party.
What is special about Weihai?
Weihai is a coastal area at the eastern tip of Shandong Province. It is the nearest part of China to South Korea. From 1898 to 1930 part of it was a British naval base known as Weihaiwei, but now it has a fast-growing urban area, with manufacturing, universities and government offices. The population of Weihai city is approx. 600,000, and that of the Weihai area is 2.8 million and rising. Weihai is most famous in China however as a holiday destination, with many beaches, golf courses and 1000km of coastline. Liugong Island in the bay off Weihai City has excellent museums, including one dealing with the British era, and a small zoo with 2 pandas.
Click here for a gallery of photographs of Weihai, past and present.
Who we are
Chairman: John Sampson
Treasurer: Tim Howarth
Newsletter Editor: Helen Brown
Minutes secretary: Alexis Cassin
Members: Councillor Garth Barnes, Annette Wight, Ian Johnson, Yingshi Helsby.