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Book specifications:
Published June 2005 by Cities500:
Hardback (176pp):
rrp: £25 - €35
ISBN: 0-9531995-3-3
Book Forewords (PDF):
The Friendship Arch:
A Celebration of China-UK Links
by Lew Baxter and Guy Woodland
SHANGHAI is now one of the most dynamic cities in Asia and its historical legacy is shared with Britain through trade, politics and culture as this comprehensive photo-essay book The Friendship Arch shows.
THIS lavishly illustrated book tells the story - with fabulous photographs and insightful essays - behind the construction of the awe-inspiring Shanghai Arch in Liverpool, rated as one of the most fascinating architectural and tourism icons in Britain.
The Arch represents Liverpool's close ties with Shanghai and Britain's with China generally: a symbol of unity and a catalyst for inward investment and helps promote academic, business and cultural exchange between the two cities. It was built by the Shanghai Linyi Garden Company Ltd who sent a highly skilled team to Liverpool to work on the construction.
The book is endorsed and supported by the Municipal Government of Shanghai and Liverpool City Council. It is also has the support of The University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, the North West of England Regional Development Agency and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.
The book incorporates a series of essays: such as the background story of Liverpool?s twinning links with Shanghai; the history of the Chinese community in the city and in Britain per se; a short history of the symbolic importance of arches in Chinese culture along with contributions from our academic and commercial partners highlighting their particular links with Shanghai and China. Each chapter in the book has a Chinese language section.
There is also a special foreword by Lord Heseltine who in 1995 as President of the Board of Trade led the largest ever British trade mission to China; he is also a Fellow of The 48 Group Club, the first UK organisation to form links with the PRC in the early 1950s. This is complemented by a foreword from the late - and much lamented - Lord Chan of Oxton, MBE, who was chairman of the Chinese in Britain Forum.
The distinguished Chinese Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Zha Peixin has also written a tribute along with a congratulatory message from the Mayor of Shanghai, Han Zheng. One chapter examines the fascinating historical perspective of Liverpool's contemporary connections with China as recorded by Ben Chapman MP, chairman of the UK All Parliamentary China Group, another Fellow of The 48 Group Club and a former commercial attache at the British Embassy in Beijing.