Chief Minister, finance chiefs and JCG girls visit China

Tuesday 08 April 2014

China is clearly the place to be this week - the Chief Minister, finance chiefs and students from Jersey College for Girls are all visiting the country to forge closer relationships with the Chinese.

The JCG Girls are on a two-week school trip, getting to know the country and meeting fellow students at Suzhou high school.

So far they have experienced the Maglev – the fastest train in the world - and have been to HSBC’s Head Office to learn about the banks history and how it operates today in China and internationally.

They will also be visiting the Chinese hospital where Lilian Grandin - Jersey’s first female doctor - worked in the 1920’s. The old JCG girl is believed to have died after giving away her own medicine to a patient who needed it more. She is still remembered in Yunnan province today.

Meanwhile Chief Minister Ian Gorst has been visiting the Beijing school where the current President of China, Xi Jinping was a pupil and which has built a relationship with Hautlieu. He was given a tour of Ba Yi school and got to see their impressive IT recording and TV studio and conference facilities.

He said: "It is a pleasure to build the ties between Hautlieu and Ba Yi. These are two schools that value inspirational education as the way to future success."

Pupils and teachers from Hautlieu visited Ba Yi in 2013 and 101 Ba Yi students and teachers came to Jersey at the beginning of this year.

The school's Principle Shen Jun said he hoped a further visit to Jersey would be organised for next January.