The Long Beach-Qingdao Association (LBQA) will host a VIP delegation from Qingdao, China, who will be visiting during the sister cities’ 25th anniversary celebration on Monday, Oct. 4 aboard the Queen Mary. Qingdao Mayor Xia Geng is sending the delegation for the celebration in order to make contacts here and discuss future cooperative exchanges in business, education, tourism and the arts.
Delegates visiting include: Luan Jingqiu, vice chairperson of Qingdao People’s Congress; Zou Jing, vice director general of Qingdao Education Bureau; Guo Yu, director of American & Oceanian Division, Qingdao Foreign Affairs Office; Li Ping, president of Qingdao Municipal Engineering Design &. Research Institute Co.; and Wang Ke, division director of Qingdao Foreign Affairs Office.
Also in the spotlight will be a visiting children’s dance and music troupe, composed of 23 children from Qingdao— The Xiao Bai Fan troupe, who will perform at the Green Port Fest at the Port of Long Beach on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 10:20am and 12:30pm, and on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 1:30pm at the Aquarium of the Pacific, as well as during the 25th anniversary dinner.
“The LBQA is pleased to have the Queen Mary as our official hotel for the event, and Air China has made a generous donation of airline tickets for an opportunity drawing,” said Mary E. Barton, Ph.D., LBQA chairperson. “We chose to use the Queen Mary for our 25th anniversary because it is the icon, the public face, of Long Beach. When people from China come here for the first time, and almost 50 people from Qingdao will be here for their first time, they should spend a little time aboard our icon.”
Details on the official anniversary dinner are available at lbqa.org. Sponsorship opportunities are available, and any local businesses interested in meeting with members of the delegation should contact Barton at info@lbqa.org.
