Left to right – Colin Fox, Chinese Consul General Sun Dali, Consul Wang Ying and Jennifer Cormack

The Lake District’s links with the Chinese tourism market have been strengthened with a visit by a delegation from the country’s consular general and a major broadcast outlet.

Working in conjunction with the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University, the Lake District China Forum has hosted the Chinese Consul General Mr Sun Dali, the artist and diplomat Consul Wang Ying and reporters from the English language news channel of China Central Television, the nation’s largest national broadcasting network.

The visit included afternoon tea at Low Wood Bay then a private boat trip with Windermere Lake Cruises to Waterhead where they then travelled via Mountain Goat to Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum.

It was also to celebrate the ‘Britain through the eyes of a Chinese Painter’ exhibition at Brockhole, featuring paintings by Mr Wang Ying.  The ensuing production of a television report of their stay is due to be aired at prime time in China.

“We want to attract more Chinese visitors to the region and promote the Lake District as a spectacular destination for Chinese tourists,” explains Jennifer Cormack from Windermere Lake Cruises, who is also the Chairman of Lake District China Forum.

“We can elevate the Lake District’s exposure in China and within the UK’s Chinese community with exhibitions and visits from high profile delegations such as this one.”

“We are grateful to the Confucius Institute for helping us to broker a meeting with the Consul General and to provide an opportunity for the group to see some local highlights and understand how our connections with China are rapidly expanding.”

Established in 2015 under the auspices of the Lake District National Park Authority, the Lake District China Forum has 10 members, including Windermere Lake Cruises and English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues.

“It was an excellent opportunity to talk to both Consul Sun and Consul Wang and to welcome them to Low Wood Bay before seeing the exhibition at Brockhole that has been supported by Lake District China Forum members and the Lake District National Park,” adds the forum’s marketing director, Colin Fox, from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues.

“The news channel was able to conduct interviews which touched upon the connection between art and the landscape, as well as local points of historical and geographical interest.  The channel aims to contribute to greater diversity and wider perspectives in global information flow, so we expect it will reach a large audience of Chinese travellers.”