Birmingham orchestra tour celebrates a century of friendship

The University of Birmingham's China Institute has marked the Chinese New Year annually with a New Year Concert. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The university has longstanding links with China and is one of the most popular British universities for Chinese students choosing to study overseas. We have over 2,000 Chinese students, the largest group of international students in the university," says Eastwood.

He also notes that the university launched its China Institute in 2012 to gather together its wide-ranging research activities with Chinese partners and encourage interdisciplinary research across the university that focuses on China. In addition to the Birmingham-based institute, the university established a presence in Shanghai in 2009 and opened the Guangzhou Centre in 2011, to host its activities in China.

China Institute also marks the Chinese New Year with the help of world-class musicians performing a special New Year concert annually.

Besides music, the university has been deeply engaged in China in diversified areas, such as energy and health service, particularly during the past six years, according to Eastwood.

Before CBSO's concert at National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Eastwood delivered a speech during the joint workshop between the University of Birmingham and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing on Jan 5, to underline the urgent need for Chinese megacities to identify sources that contribute to the lingering air pollution.

He also visited the Shenzhen-based Southern University of Science and Technology of China on Friday to further discuss how the two institutions can work together, following an agreement between the two universities in 2016, which laid the foundation for a partnership to explore opportunities for research collaboration and a collaborative program of doctoral studies.

In December, experts from the University of Birmingham have joined Nanjing University to launch a groundbreaking collaboration, the Shakespeare Centre, China, which sees the university's world-renowned Shakespeare Institute, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, reach out to millions of Chinese people to increase access to and understanding of Shakespeare.