CHINESE visitors have been shown the site set to become home to a Chinese pavilion in Stratford.
The People’s Government of Fuzhou Municipality is gifting Stratford District Council a traditional Peony pavilion as part of an on-going cultural exchange and friendship project centred on the relationship established around the area’s respective famous playwrights – Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu.
The traditional pavilion – a covered structure without surrounding walls often found within temples – is set to be installed in Firs Garden on Grove Road by next spring, and visitors from China recently saw the site for themselves.
Council leader Tony Jefferson said: “Seeing the projected site for the pavilion has made the project so much more real. I am looking forward to its erection at the site, as it is a tangible sign of our continuing links with China.
“Although it is part of the cultural partnership we have established with Fuzhou, there is so much more that both parties wish to gain from the collaboration.
“We hope that we will see increased business and trade links with the region bringing in investment and boosting the economies of both regions.”
A civic party from Stratford will be visiting Fuzhou at the end of September for the second Tang Xianzu International Drama Festival.
Located 14km from Fuzhou in a mountainous region, Sanweng Town forms part of a new cultural tourist attraction, which will be themed around Shakespeare, Xianzu, and Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes who penned Don Quixote – known as the ‘Three Giants’ in China – with replicas of each of their home towns included within the project.
A planning application for the pavilion should be submitted before the end of this month. A decision is expected before Christmas.
