Tangshan Mayor's First Visit to Cedar Rapids

Wednesday, August 7, 2002

In late July, the City of Cedar Rapids was pleased to host our Friendship City from Tangshan, People’s Republic of China. This marked Tangshan Mayor Zhang He’s first visit to Cedar Rapids and therefore made the delegation especially remarkable.

Tangshan is a city of approximately 7 million people located near Beijing. It has a strong agricultural economy and fertile soil, much like our own area.

Accompanying Mayor Zhang were the director and deputy chief of the Foreign Affairs office of Tangshan Municipal People’s Government, an economic consultant from the Yutian County Government of Tangshan, a representative of the Tangshan Seaport Development Zone, and the manager of the China-Canada Yutian Animal Husbandry Feed Mill.

Mayor Paul Pate was honored to commemorate Mayor Zheng’s visit with a joint signing of a proclamation commemorating the fifth anniversary of the two cities’ relationship as Friendship Cities.

Alliant Energy International also hosted the delegation during their stay. Mayor Zheng and his delegation toured the Diamond V Technical Center on the Kirkwood Community College campus, as well as Kirkwood’s AgKnowledge program and the Iowa Equestrian Center. The group also toured Siemens Transportation Systems and Rockwell Collins.

The goal of the Sister City relationship is to foster the exchange of culture, education, and economic development opportunities for both cities. The many business and personal contacts that were made with the delegation during their stay in Cedar Rapids will accelerate this important relationship.