LETTERS

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I am the chair of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), a London-based organization established by Dr. Joseph Needham in 1965, with the objective of promoting understanding and friendship between the British and Chinese people. I read through every copy ofChina TodayI receive in the mail from China International Book Trading Corporation. I have just finished reading the May issue and would love to see the documentary –Riding Rails in China: New Silk Roadwhich was introduced in the article titled “Ancient Silk Road Bursting with History.” Some of my family members presently live in Lanzhou, Gansu Province. The last time I visited Dunhuang, I spent three full days enjoying the marvelous murals in the caves. I also travelled on the newly opened high-speed rail train.

I joined SACU back in early 2001. By that time I had already been to China to visit family a couple of times and really felt I wanted to help contribute to SACU’s mission. After being nominated as its chair, I recognized the responsibility which the other Council members had

placed in me. To fulfill the mission, my colleagues and I began producing a monthly digest newsletter for our members and also a publication namedChina Eyewhich has had a consistent editorial policy to counter the negative coverage of China in the Western press. We cover positive and interesting news items and facts, as well as book reviews and articles about Chinese cultural artifacts.

Now we have social media accounts on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, through which we can promote deeper and further understanding between young people of the two nations. It would be interesting to think about some way SACU might cooperate withChina Todayto promote cultural exchanges for our common interest.

Zoë Reed

U.K.

I am the first secretary at the cultural office of the Chinese Embassy in the U.K. I read the article “Understanding China Through the Lens of a British Historian” in the June issue ofChina Today. Michael Wood is such a famous British historian and one of BBC’s most popular presenters that his wellknown documentary series have made smash hits in both China and the U.K. His works sparkle with his learned wit and wisdom that makes the audience feel as if he is guiding us through time with a grandfatherly gleam in his eyes.Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet, a 58-minute documentary released on BBC Four in April 2020, has made Du Fu the first Chinese poet widely known in the Western world in a documentary form. Moreover, the long tradition of Chinese poetry has been given great recognition. Cultural exchanges are usually an essential and effective way to connect people from different cultures, giving them a platform on which to share ideas, traditions, and knowledge. For instance, this year’s London Craft Week – an annual event celebrating outstanding British and international creativity, coincided with the Amazing China – a video exhibition on Chinese arts & crafts, which attracted a wide range of British visitors to watch Chinese skills of ceramics making, clay sculpturing, metalworking, bamboo carving, silversmithing, embroidery, dyeing, wood working, and paper cutting.

Yu Guo

U.K.