Following his vastly successful four-day tour of Japan, Prince William landed in Beijing, China, where he met with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping.
On the first official Royal visit to China since The Queen and Prince Philip visited the country in 1986, Prince William was invited to the Great Hall of the People. There, he was welcomed by President Xi, who congratulated him on the upcoming birth of his second child. The President extended an invitation to Her Majesty to come to China, stating that the Royal Family has contributed “positively” to the co-operation between the two countries.
The Prince responded in kind by handing President Xi a message from The Queen, personally inviting the Chinese President on a State visit to the UK.
“The British Royal Family holds great influence, not just in the UK but across the world,” President Xi said, speaking to Prince William through an interpreter. “Over the years the Royal Family has shown great interest in, and support for, Chinese/UK relations. And members of the Royal Family have done a lot and contributed positively to changes and co-operation between our two countries in areas ranging from trade to environment protection… and cultural exchanges.”
He added: “I know this is your Royal Highness’s first visit to China. In China, we have a saying that hearing about something 100 times is not the same as seeing it once. So I very much welcome your Royal Highness and other members of the Royal family to make [a] visit to China and see more parts of China.”
The Prince thanked the President for his hospitality, saying: “It’s been a long interest of mine, for many years, to come and visit China.” The two then discovered that they shared the love of football, and Prince William remarked that he was “looking forward to learning about China’s football.”
The Prince toured the Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty, located in the centre of the city. The palace had served as the home to the Emperor of China for nearly 500 years before the Chinese imperial regime was overthrown.
The Forbidden City, usually closed on Mondays, was opened expressly for the Royal visitor. Prince William, strolled around the majestic courtyard, taking in the splendour, before standing for pictures in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the site of the Emperor’s coronation.
Prince William’s visit to the Far East is a part of the effort to promote “brand Britain”. He launched the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange at the British ambassador’s official residence in Beijing, by painting the eye of a model of Shaun the Sheep. The character from the animated television series is a fitting choice, seeing as this year is the Chinese Year of the Sheep.
Later in the visit, Prince William will travel to Shanghai to launch the three-day long business exhibition the Great Festival of Creativity, before attending the Chinese premiere of the movie Paddington. While in China, he will also visit the Yunnan province, home to 250 wild Asian elephants. The Prince will give a speech at a regional wildlife and conservation conference and see some rescued elephants, while learning about how local communities live alongside these animals
Featured photo credit: UK in Japan-FCO via photopin cc
Congratulations on your future 2nd child. The older I get the more I appreciate my children. 🙂