A high-flying delegation of Chinese government officials has visited Cumbria to learn more about how councils are run in England.
The 15 delegates are from provinces all around China, including Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Guizhou, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai. Headed by Mr. Zhang Yanping, Director General of the Ministry of Personnel of the People's Republic of China, the delegation includes mayors, magistrates and county secretaries and will be accompanied by a translator so they can learn more about the English system of local government.
The trip to Carlisle is part of a 12-day fact finding mission for the delegation, who are visiting a number of local authorities around the UK.
They were welcomed by Cumbria County Council's Chairman Alan Toole before learning about the council's democratic structure and Codes of Conduct. Cllr Toole said: "It was an interesting exchange of cultures and hopefully they found out some useful information on how democracy works in the country. Cumbria is already forging links with China through the new University of Cumbria's Chinese exchange programme and we were happy to open our doors to this delegation."
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