The ‘Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together’ event series has arrived at its second station. After Nanjing last year, the next event venue is Chongqing, a metropolis of 32 million in southwest China. From May 9 – 17, 2008, the Germany Esplanade on the city’s centrally located Dalitang Square offers a programme of art, culture, science and advanced technology, with an emphasis on ‘urban development’ and ‘education’. Official Partners Allianz, BASF, Daimler, Deutsche Bank, DHL and Siemens present their ideas on the environment, energy, and transport in artistically designed pavilions.

“The Germany Esplanade, featuring pavilions where German businesses showcase their ideas, communicates the event series’ message most strikingly: it presents our country’s powers of innovation, along with our willingness to enter into partnership with China,” said Michael Kahn-Ackermann, director of the Goethe Institute in Beijing, who manages the project, explaining the goals of the programme.
“Our primary aim is to position Germany as an innovative and attractive country among our project partners in China. Germany is the Land of Ideas, and we are offering China the opportunity to develop solutions for the future, together,” added Dr. Jürgen Heraeus, Chairman of the China workgroup in the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business.

Having gotten off to a successful start in Nanjing with 200.000 visitors last October, the event series now makes its second stop in Chongqing, where the Germany Esplanade will be accompanied by an extensive cultural and stage programme featuring bands such as MIA, Deichkind and Stereo Total. Workshops, exhibitions and lectures on the topic of sustainable urban development round off the programme.

• Background information on Chongqing
  
• Highlights from the Germany Esplanade
  
• The Foreign Office’s e-magazine on ‘Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together’
• Germany and China - Chongqing Dialogue on Urbanization