02-05-2008 - Establish A Sister-City Relationship with City of Wuhu, ChinaAl
TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager
and City Council
FROM: Artie A. Fields, Assistant City Manager
• City of West Covina
. Memorandum
AGENDA
ITEM NO. H-3
DATE February 5, 2008
SUBJECT: ESTABLISH A SISTER -CITY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF
WUHU, CHINA
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council direct staff accordingly.
DISCUSSION:
Councilmember Steve Herfert received a letter from the City of Wuhu, China seeking the
establishment of a friendship/sister city relationship with the City of West Covina.
A friendship city relationship is similar to that of a sister city relationship. The use of friendship
city relationships is common for countries in Asia and can have the same relationship as a sister -
city relationship. The difference in meaning tends to refer that the partnership is more limited in
scope, which would be reflected in any agreement agreed to by the two communities. The intent
of a sister -city relationship is to promote exchange programs, goodwill, sharing of culture and
ideas, and the possible future development of a commerce exchange program.
In 2002, the City Council directed City staff to look into the development of a sister city program
that included support from a community organization or group of individuals to help. sustain the
sister city relationship. As a result, City staff contacted local organizations and placed
advertisements in Discover to solicit community involvement and direction on the development
of a sister city relationship. In January 2004, the East San. Gabriel Valley Japanese Community
Center submitted a nomination letter to the City, nominating Kurobane, Japan. The East San
Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center submitted Kurobane, as they already participated in
a student exchange program for middle and high school students and a cultural exchange
program that sent teachers to Japan to teach English to the Japanese students. In 2004, the City
Council approved the selection of Kurobane, as a sister -city and the formal agreement was
signed in Kurobane in November 2004. (Kurobane, Japan has since merged with the City of
Ohtawara, Japan. An amended agreement was signed in Ohtawara; Japan in July 2007).
Much of the success of the relationship between Ohtawara and West Covina is because of the
East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center's active participation and exchange with
Ohtawara. In addition, the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center has provided
translation services, paid for some expenses related to the exchange, coordinated all formal
activities while in Japan, and is an active -member of West Covina.
Wuhu, China is located about 200 miles west of Shanghai, China, along the Yangtze River in the
Anuhui Province (similar to a state in the U.S.). The current population of Wuhu is 2.3 million
people. Wuhu encompasses 1,300 square miles and is an agricultural, commercial, and
manufacturing community. Wuhu has numerous colleges, ship and automobile manufacturers,
and several notable artists. (Attached is additional information from Wikipedia.com).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact is unknown at this time.
i
OPTIONS:
.The City Council has a number of alternatives on which they can act.
1. Support signing a letter of intent to establish relations between the City of West Covina_
and Wuhu, China;
2. Receive and file this informational report;
3. Provide alternative direction.
Prepared by: Approved by:
n
Chris Freeland Artie A. Fields
Assistant to the City Manager Assistant City Manager
West Covina City Council
1444 West Garvey Ave, PO Box 1440
West Covina, CA 91793, the USA
Attn: Mr. Michael R • Touhey, Mayor
Wuhu, 9`s, Oct., 2007
Object: Letter of Intent on the Establishment of Friendship City Relationship
Dear Mr. Michael R • Touhey,
I'm Zhou Zhengyan, Director of Foreign & Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal
Government. It's very nice to recognize you through the opportunity.
Foreign & Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal Government is a department
which in charge of foreign affairs, overseas Chinese affairs. And which be devoted to promote
foreign friendly contacts and economic development.
The delegationof the People's Congress of Wuhu City visited the U.S.A. last year, made friendly
exchange with West Covina. The two sides have held positive talks on the establishment of
friendship city relationship and mutual exchanges on various aspects. It will promote the bilateral
cooperation and economic development of various fields..
In order to reach the purpose of establishment of friendship city relationship, I send you the letter
of Intent on the Establishment of Friendship City Relationship. When you receive it, please see the
letter whether or not appropriate for your city. Don't hesitate to let us know if there is any content
need be revised. If everything of the letter is OK, please sign it and post it back to us.
Best Regards
Sincerely yours,
Mr. Zhou Zhengyan
Director, Foreign & Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal Government
Wuhu - Wikipedia, the free encycldia
0 Page 1 of 4 1
Wuhu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wuhu (simplified'Chinese: XM; pinyin: Wuhu;
literally "Weedy Lake") is a prefecture -level city in the
southeastern Anhui province, People's Republic of
China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze
River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast,
Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Chaohu to the
northwest, Ma'anshan to the northeast, and the
province of Jiangsu to the east.
Contents
■ 1 Administration
■ 2 History j
■ 3 Culture
■ 4 Folklore
■ 5 Food
■ 6 Tourism
■ 7 Education
f
■ 8 Notable people
■ 9 Notable constructions j
■ 10 Orphanage and nursing home
■ 11 References
■ 12 External links I
Administration
The prefecture -level city of Ma'anshan administers 7
county -level divisions, including 4 districts and 3
counties.
■ Xinwu District (XX) (232,400)
■ Matang District (A X)
■ Jinghu District (MX)
■ Jiujiang District (AMEX
■ Wuhu County (XM A)
■ Fangchang County (` F)
■ Nanling County (MA)
History
Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least .
770 BCE. It became a strategically important town
I
i
I
i
I j
Administration Type
Prefecture -level city
Xinwu District
City Seat
(0 31 °20'N, 118° {
j
21'E)
Area
3,317 kim j
i Population
2,245,600 (2004)
i
GDP
S
¥34.507 billion
- Total
(2004)
- Per Capita
¥15,366 (2004)
Major Nationalities
Han
County -level divisions
7
Township -level
divisions
CPC Committee
i Secretary
Shen Weiguo (1�
Mayor
�)
Area code
553
Postal Code
241000
(Urban center)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu 1 /28/2008
Wuhu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2 of 4
during the Three Kingdoms period (220 BC-65 AD),
when it was controlled by the Eastern Wu. At this time
it was known as Qiuzu (Chiu-tzu). Under the Ming
dynasty Wuhu developed into a major commercial
center and river port, and since that time has been
known as a center of the rice trade.
241100-241300
(Other areas)
License Plate Prefix FRB
In 1644, the Hongguang Emperor (better known as the Prince of Fu), one of the last emperors of the
Ming Dynasty, was captured by forces of the -new Qing Dynasty in Wuhu. The city became a treaty port
in 1876 and has remained a commercial center since that time. The city's Roman Catholic cathedral, St.
Joseph Cathedral („.]), dates from this time.
Trade in rice, wood, and tea flourished at Wuhu until the Warlord Era of the 1920s and 1930s, when
bandits were active in the area. Under.the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, Chinese
resistance fighters hid in the lakes around Wuhu, by submerging themselves and breathing through
reeds.
Major industries only began to be developed in Wuhu after the Second World War, with the
development of the textile industry, paper mills, and a large automobile factory. Despite this, Wuhu has
lagged behind Ma'anshan and Tongling in industrial production, and remains primarily a commercial
and collecting center for trade in rice, silk, cotton, tea, wheat and eggs.
Culture
The great poet Li Bai spent his late life in Wuhu, it is said, due to its striking landscape. Li Bai was born
in a Central Asian town and raised in the southwestern China. Xie Tiao, one of the most distinctive Six
Dynasty poets whom he greatly admired, left many poems when holding positions here.
In the Tang dynasty (619-907), the poet Du Mu wrote a famous poem Thoughts on Staying Again at
Wuhu. A factory in Wuhu carries on the local craft of making wrought iron pictures. Other local
handicrafts are embossed lacquerware and rice straw pith patchwork. A famous stone tablet in Wuhu
recording local events of the Song dynasty period (ca. 1000 AD) is considered to be a masterpiece of the
renowned calligrapher Mi Fu. In the Western world, Wuhu is now known as the home city to many
adopted Chinese children.
Folklore
An itinerant blacksmith named Tang Tianchi is reputed to have invented the wrought -iron picture in
Wuhu, when a painter whom he admired chided him, "You will never make pictures by beating iron."
Another blacksmith of the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) named Gan Jiang was famous for
sword making. Zhe Shan (Reddish Brown Hill) is said to get its colour from the flames of Gan Jiang's
furnace. Sheng Shan (Sacred Hill) is the legendary location of his sword grinding rock and tempering
pool.
Food
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu 1/28/2008
Wuhu - Wikipedia, the free encycra • Page 3 of 4
Wuhu and Anging are noted centers of the Yanjiang cuisine. It specializes in freshwater fish and poultry,
and features special techniques of chopping, shaping, and colouring. The flavour of Yanjiang dishes is
often enhanced by sweetening and smoking.
Tourism
■ Mirror Lake (M)
■ Jiu Zi Plaza
■ Mount Zhe, a hill park
■ Wuhu Olympic Stadium
■ Yangtze River Bridge Crossing
Education
■ Anhui Normal University (3MftXt*)
■ Anhui University of Technology and Science (1r
MVP44AM
■ Wannan Medical College AM 9 * lsi )
■ Wuhu Radio and TV University (,CM1'r qVk.
■ Wuhu Vocational Institute of Technology
Notable people
■ Xiao Yuncong (1596 - 1673), Ming Dynasty painter
■ Zhao Wei (b. 1976), Actress
Notable constructions
The business district of Wuhu seen at night from
across the Mirror Lake.
■ 229 metre tall pylons of Yangtze River Crossing Wuhu, a part of HVDC Three Gorges-
Changzhou. Tallest pylons used for HVDC.
Orphanage and nursing home
For a time starting around 1995, all of the children from Wuhu Orphanage were given the Chinese
surname Wu, but more recently other surnames have been used. The children's given names are based
on a variety of sources, such as the street, location or time of day when they are found, or sometimes a
wish for their well being, such as using the word "bridge" in the name of a child with a cleft palate. P 1
References
1. ^ Barbara Jones, "A Small Happiness", Good Housekeeping, December 1994
External links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu 1/28/2008
Wuhu - Wikipedia, the free encycl edia Page 4 of 4
■ Government website'of Wuhu (available in Chinese, English and Japanese)
■ Wuhu Blog
Retrieved from "http://en'.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu"
Categories: Cities in Anhui
■ This page was last modified 14:45, 21 October 2007.
■ All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights
for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)
(3) tax-deductible'nonprofit charity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu 1 /28/2008