Sister City since: July 1994

Overview

Heidenheim (Heidenheim an der Brenz) is the eastern city of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, the capital and largest city of Heidenheim County. Heidenheim is located on the banks of the Brenz River on the north side of the Swabian mountains, with a population of about 51,200 and an area of 107 square kilometers (41.35 square miles). The city is a major center for turbine and paper manufacturing as well as the headquarters of Voith. It is home to Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University. Despite the city’s small size, there are many cultural attractions, such as the Hellenstein Castle, one of the many historical buildings, from which one can overlook downtown Heidenheim. The annual popular opera festival is held in the Knights Hall at the Hellenstein Castle. Other renowned attractions include the City Hall, Brenzpark, the Carriage Museum and Wildlife Park Eichert.

Relations with Qianjiang

In May 1986, the Vice Minister of Social, Health and Labor Welfare of Baden-Wurttemberg, Kirion led a delegation of German experts to learn about Qianjiang’s healthcare. Since then, friendly exchanges between Qianjiang and Hedenheim had begun. Heidenheim gave several batches of advanced medical equipment to Qianjiang for free, shared advanced medical technology and helped train first aid workers. In August 1989, the Vice Minister of Social Department of Baden-Wurttemberg, Kirion, and then mayor of Heidenheim, Martin Honglong, led a delegation to Qianjiang. The two cities signed a Letter of Intent for Cooperation and Qianjiang Central Hospital and Heidenheim County Hospital signed a Cooperation Agreement. In 1990, Ma Ronghua, then mayor of Qianjiang, led a delegation to Heidenheim. In the same year, the municipal government led a delegation of hospital staff to Heidenheim. In July 1994, Zhang Weidong, then city mayor visited Heidenheim and signed a formal sister city agreement. The two sides discussed about joint production of medical materials. In April 1996, then mayor Himmersbach of Heidenheim led a delegation to Qianjiang. During the visit, Qianjiang Medical Materials Factory signed a trade contract with Hardman, agreeing to provide the latter with USD 200,000 worth of medical dressings per month. By 2000, USD 7 millions of medical dressings have been exported. In June 1998, Wang Zehong, then mayor of Qianjiang, led a delegation to Heidenheim and talked with mayor Himmersbach about sending exchange students and cooperating with Heidenheim County Hospital to set up TCM outpatient clinic. In October, Qianjiang sent over two students to learn German. Heidenheim donated DM 50,000 to people affected by floods in Qianjiang. In March 1999, Mikulitz, then deputy mayor of Heidenheim, visited Qianjiang. In June, Heidenheim sent two German students to Qianjiang to learn Chinese, In October, Qianjiang sent over two students to learn German. In April 2000, Heidenheim sent four exchange students to learn Chinese, and two months later, Heidenheim sent a German student to study in Qianjiang. Between 2006 and 2019, Professor Juergen Seitz led a group of students to visit Qianjiang on an annual basis.

Since 2020, due to severe Covid situations at home and abroad, the two sides have maintained contacts via email.