With the news Preston may be considering forming a new twin town arrangement with Xining in China, we’ve taken a look at seven things you may not know about the city.
AdvertisementAs reported in the Lancashire Evening Post, Mayor of Preston Veronica Afrin and senior officers from the city council and county council have been entertaining a group of businessman from the city.
Preston has strong links with China due to the University of Central Lancashire.
The university has campuses out there and also a large Chinese student population who are studying in Preston.
Here’s seven things we found out about Xining:
1. A lot of people live there
Compared to Preston’s 130,000 souls, the city of Xining – which is the capital of the Qinghai province – has a population of over 2.2 million.
2. The climate does match
Xining experiences cool summers, temperatures reach their highest in July averaging 24 degrees and in winter barely get above 3 degrees during December and January. It can get as cold as -13 degrees in January.
3. They like a drink
Something all Prestonians can appreciate, strong spirits are the drink of choice for the people of Xining due to its cold climate.
4. Their own Beacon Fell
We’ve got Beacon Fell, they’ve got the Sun and Moon Mountain. Sounds slighly more dramatic. It divides the entire Qinghai Province in two.
5. It’s got an airport
The Caojibau Airport is a little more glamorous than Blackpool Airport.
6. Smoggy hell
The city has the second worst air quality in Western China according to the World Health Organisation.
7. Bang in the centre
Xining sits right at the heart of China, on the old Silk Road. It’s always been an important trading post. It’s 1,695 kilometres from Beijing, which is (only!) 19 hours in the car.
For those from Xining, here’s sixteen excellent things you might not know about Preston.
Have you ever been to Xining? What’s it like? Let us know in the comments below
Image credits to Madellina Bird and Tianyake