9/9/98 11:00 PM Jingzhou, Hubei

Up early again and out the door by 7 AM, we were flying to Hubei Province, home of Westchester's sister city, Jingzhou. Hubei Province has about 60 million people, including 7 million in Wuhan, the provincial capital and one of China's major industrial centers.

Like most of the cities we saw, it too had its share of modern buildings.

Even the old pavilion had a backdrop of urban buildings and a communications tower.

Wuhan and Jingzhou lie in the central region of the Yangtze River valley, which stretches for over a thousand miles. The Yangtze is the world's third longest river.

From Wuhan Airport, we went to meet with the Vice Governor of Hubei Province, Mr. Deng Du Kun, and the leader of Jingzhou Mr. Liu Keyi who was there conferring with provincial officials about  flooding that has been occuring in the region. (Mr. Liu had visited Westchester County earlier this year.) In addition to the discussion of trade and joint ventures, quite a bit of time was spent on the recent flooding.

We then took the bus to Jingzhou through rice paddies. The trip was a mere three hours away on the new turnpike. (Yes, they do have tolls.)

We also saw that Jingzhou, although not among the most well known or richest cities, has new construction as well.

When we arrived at the hotel in Jingzhou, we saw a warm welcome at the door of the hotel.

We discussed our agenda for the next few days at an opening meeting.

On behalf of Pace University, the County Executive also reaffirmed the continuation of a special scholarship program for Jingzhou students.

As a way of thanking Jingzhou for giving Westchester the beautiful Chinese Pavilion in Lasdon Park, the County Executive gave several mementos to the Mayor, including a painting of the pavilion.

This was followed by the welcoming banquet with all the major city government officials, including Mayor Wang Ping, the Vice Mayor, Ms. Lin Zhong Mei and the General Secretary, Mr. Huang.