Kendal Mayor Cllr Chris Hogg argues there are many benefits to forging closer links with China

One of the oldest slogans I can remember for Kendal was ‘Gateway to the Lakes and Dales’. Not very exciting but an accurate assessment of a part of what Kendal offers the overseas visitor.

These days there is so much more! We have a distinctive retail offer, top-notch attractions, quality hotels, restaurants, and, of course, some of the UK’s best festivals. We also offer great transport links due to the M6 and the West Coast mainline. All of this makes Kendal a hugely attractive destination for overseas visitors.

Without doubt the biggest market for overseas visitors with the greatest potential for growth is China. It was with this in mind I accepted an invitation from the Chinese government to visit Nanshan District in the remarkable city of Shenzhen. The Government there is interested in developing a relationship with Kendal.

It may seem like an odd choice for a district in one of China’s biggest and wealthiest cities, which is the silicon valley of China, to want to link with Kendal, but there are some clear connections. Firstly, Nanshan is close to two National Parks and Richard Leafe, chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, was able to meet, build connections and swap best practices with representatives of these which can only help with the forthcoming World Heritage bid.

Secondly is their interest in adventure, culture and festivals.

Shenzhen was China’s first Special Economic Zone and, despite being a city of over 6m people, it is only 35 years old. It has a very young and wealthy population, the new Chinese middle class and they are keen to explore and make the most of all experiences on offer to them including overseas travel.

It is not surprising they came across Kendal Mountain Festival and recognised it as the best available festival of its kind in the world. China wants the best so I joined the delegation with Steve Scott (KMF Director) and Richard Leafe to see if we could help spread the KMF brand and use this as a building block for exploring future relations with Nanshan.

Subsequently KMF has signed a deal and has opened up a new Asia office with their partners in Shenzhen. There are certainly exciting times ahead for this flagship event.

It was a truly remarkable trip and I believe a very successful visit for many reasons. Our hosts were very gracious and open to the possibilities of exploring educational, cultural and economic exchanges.

The size of the city and wealth on display is hard to describe - you have to see it to believe it. Equally, I was expecting to be closely monitored, see propaganda everywhere and be careful about my conversations. This was not the case. Shenzhen is a short trip away from Hong Kong and is regarded as the most liberated of all Chinese cities.

There is, of course, still much to be done and we discussed this with openly with our hosts once we had got to know them. However, it is clear the more people travel and the more we can share about our cultures the greater our understanding will be and the greater likelihood that more change will result. However, this is a matter for central governments and I noticed with interest some other politicians have visited China since we returned and have made their intentions clear!

I think there are many opportunities for cultural organisations and tourism businesses following our visit. Kendal Town Council has agreed to explore the potential relationship with Nanshan District, but as yet no more than this.

To progress this further I have invited some key Nanshan officials to Kendal (they paid for our visit and will also pay for their visit to Kendal) so they can see what we and the surrounding area can offer them. As the old Chinese proverb says ‘May you live in interesting times.’