A delegation of 12 officials from the City of Ballarat's Friendship City, Yangzhou, will visit Ballarat on Thursday 18 July.
City of Ballarat Deputy Mayor Cr Jim Rinaldi and Director of Innovation and Organisational Improvement Cameron Cahill visited Yangzhou during a trip to China in May with a senior Victorian delegation led by City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp.
The Yangzhou delegation will include Vice Mayor Mr Yu Ting plus government, economic, tourism and cultural representatives.
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh says the friendship agreement with Yangzhou is very important to Ballarat.
"This visit will give us an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation between our two cities," Cr McIntosh said.
"We are also looking forward to showing off our beautiful historic town - particularly some of our amazing cultural and tourism offerings - and to returning the warm hospitality shown to Cr Rinaldi and Mr Cahill on their recent trip to China.
"During this visit, we hope to continue some of the productive discussions already held with Cr Rinaldi and Mr Cahill around mutual cultural and tourism benefits for both cities, and we are very excited to learn more about the 2021 Yangzhou World Horticulture Expo which I believe will be an amazing global drawcard for the Yangzhou region."
The delegation will visit the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Sovereign Hill, the Gold Museum and Ballarat Town Hall.
Media opportunity:
9.45am-10am (strictly) Thursday 18 July, Ballarat Botanical Gardens, The Conservatory
* Please note the Yangzhou delegation will need to use a translator to speak with media
