'China Now' Showcases Culture in Britain

The organizers of the United Kingdom's largest celebration of Chinese culture on Thursday unveiled plans for the event in Beijing.

Speaking at a press conference, the chief executive of China Now, Simon Heale, said: "I hope the festival stimulates both peoples to interact more. It will be fantastic if something comes out of it, and I think it will."

China Now is a "cultural extravaganza" of more than 800 events to be held in London and throughout the UK during the upcoming Chinese New Year.

The six-month festival will feature activities, exhibitions and performances of Chinese film, cuisine, comics, art, literature, music, design, science, technology, business, education and sports.

China's world-renowned 22-year-old pianist Lang Lang is scheduled to play in London during the festival.

The cultural event aims to heighten the UK public's understanding of China and forge stronger ties between artists, cultural leaders, schools, businesses and communities in both countries.

"I think many connections will be made through China Now. And those contacts and friendships will lead to permanent relationships," Heale said.

Peter Wong, executive director of HSBC, one of the founding partners of China Now, said: "Cultural exchanges between China and the UK need to be intensified after economic ties have developed so quickly.

"Communication helps countries to develop their relationships.

"But real communication starts from cultural exchange - it is like how globalization must be based on cross-cultural communication," he said.

The idea for the event was conceived two years ago during a lunch between HSBC CEO Stephen Green and the chairman of financial group Brunswick, Alan Parker.

"It is wonderful to see this small idea turn into a national and even an international festival," Parker told reporters.

The "small idea" will have a budget of tens of millions of British pounds, contributed by about 30 sponsors.

But in the beginning, people were skeptical about the concept for the event, Wong told China Daily.

"So I went to different companies to persuade them to invest," he said.

"The result? Companies now come to us with offers of sponsorship.

"We have raised more than the 15 million pounds ($30 million) we originally targeted.

"So we hope to be able to make the event even better than we planned."