In February the new British Ambassador to China, Sebastian Wood, visited Chongqing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the British Councils operations in the South West of China.  With this in mind on Friday 19th at 6pm they will be bringing a double decker bus to Chongqing Tiandi to continue the birthday party, unfortunately the word is that it won’t be a red one.  Brits will just have to use their imagination.  Music will be from the Cotton Club’s inhouse band.   This will continue a year of related cultural events and any Chengdu readers will be glad to know their party is coming the following weekend, on the 28th.

Over the past decade the British Council has been involved in many Cultural and Educational events in the region.  Although the main basis of their work in is education and providing services like the Ilets exam, the Council also promotes and engages with all areas of the arts from bringing contemporary dancers here to setting up  exhibitions of emerging Chinese artists in the UK.  Most recently in Chongqing, the Council collaborated on the Flock project in October, staged in the Peoples Square and Chongqing Tiandi. 

Xintiandi already has areas in Shanghai’s old Shikumen houses, as well as ongoing projects in Beijing and Wuhan, and Chongqing’s new development is certainly one of the better looking areas in the city and is worth a look in its own right.  Situated between Shapingba and Jiefangbei on the river side it’s easy to get to.  Take bus 808 from Shapingba.   It’s pretty new so taxis don’t always know the way.

rosa k.

Last Thursday @ Chongqing Tiandi, marked the opening of The British Council's Transforming Public Spaces, "a major eight-month project bringing together communities, artists, architects and urban planners."   The project opened with a photography exhibit that was the result of a competition challenging its participants to capture Chongqing's public spaces, and marks the begining of an art synthesis between British and Chinese artists and citizens that aims to get people to view public spaces in a different light, "a key element of this is the consideration of the role that art can play in shaping cities by transforming public spaces and thereby improving the quality of urban life."
This was the first of a number of events including FLOCK, a mixed media instillation by UK artist collaborative KMA      in November.