35 years of building bridges between two great cities | Opinion
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Cincinnati-Liuzhou, China Sister City relationship. As the political climate between our two countries is currently at a low point, it is important to remember the founding reason for Sister City programs.
The Sister City movement was started by President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. President Eisenhower said he had seen enough war in his life, and he hoped that if citizens of different countries got to know each other on a personal level, maybe the number of wars would subside. Cincinnati followed President Eisenhower’s lead and has established nine Sister City partnerships, including Amman, Jordan; Gifu, Japan; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Munich, Germany; Mysore, India; Nancy, France; and New Taipei City, Taiwan.
The Cincinnati-Liuzhou Sister City relationship was the first such partnership for the city of Cincinnati. The Cin-Liu Committee was established in 1987. Mayor Charles Luken led a delegation in April 1988 to Liuzhou to officially sign a Sister City memorandum signifying a mutual agreement for an exchange in culture, education, business, arts, medicine, science and technology between the two cities.
Liuzhou (pronounced LEO-JOE) is located in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, close to Vietnam. Like Cincinnati, Liuzhou is a beautiful river town, with a population over four million, situated on the banks of the Liu Jiang River. It has a subtropical climate with mild temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.
Liuzhou is famous for its beautiful scenery, unique landscape featuring its karst topography, and spicy food. Its most famous dish is "losifen" or spicy snail noodle soup. Losifen is as unique to Liuzhou as Cincinnati chili is to Cincinnati, and it can now be found on the menu of the Oriental Wok Restaurant in Hyde Park. Their chefs learned this dish during a restaurant exchange.
Through the years our two cities have had 110 exchanges − 50 exchanges consisting of 352 Cincinnatians travelling to Liuzhou, and 60 exchanges with 352 Liuzhou citizens visiting Cincinnati. It’s kind of amazing that after 35 years, the number of travelers between the two cities is identical. A truly equal partnership.
These exchanges have included teachers, artists, doctors, librarians, chefs, park officials, police officers and others. Almost all of the visitors from Liuzhou live with volunteer host families while they are in Cincinnati − three of whom have been awarded as "Honorary Citizens of Liuzhou." The bonds that grow from hosting have proven to be life-long for many of our participants. The Cin-Liu exchanges have won numerous awards through the years in both countries, including Sister Cities International’s "Best Overall Program" in 2014 and the National Chinese Friendship Association with Foreign Countries "Best Sister City Program" in 2016.
Our Teacher Exchange Program has seen close to 100 English as a Second Language teachers from Liuzhou visit Cincinnati to improve their English skills and to learn Western teaching methods. These Chinese teachers have taken their newfound expertise back to Liuzhou and have spread their love of Cincinnati to over half a million Chinese students and their families and friends. Just think about it, in a little corner of China there are thousands of people who know about the enchantment of Cincinnati and Graeter’s ice cream.
Artists and Cincinnati Park officials, in conjunction with their Liuzhou colleagues, have created the beautiful Friendship Garden in Liuzhou’s Longtan Park. The park includes replicas of the Roebling Bridge, the Gazebo at Mirror Lake and a Butterfly Bench from Eden Park. It’s a little slice of Cincinnati on the other side of the world. Speaking of little slices, you can even order goetta in Liuzhou. While visiting Cincinnati on a chef exchange, Chef Huang fell in love with our hometown delicacy, and he offers it every Sunday at his Western Buffet.
Although recognition through awards is nice, it is the long-lasting friendships that have been formed through these exchanges that mean the most. Throughout 35 years of exchanges and the various cycles of China-U.S. relations, these friendships have blossomed and demonstrated that people are people no matter where they call home. That’s especially important to remember during our current political climate. Here’s to 35 more years of building bridges between our two great cities.
Joe Hamrick is chair of the Cin-Liu Sister City Committee.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 35 years of building bridges between two great cities | Opinion
