Sister city since: August 2006

Overview

Washington County is located in the northwest of Oregon and is the second largest city in the state. The county has a total area of 1,884 square kilometers and a population of 475,000. The county has 12 economically well-off small and medium-sized towns. The economy of Washington County is powered by agriculture, horticulture, food processing, electronics, and sports equipment. World-renowned brands such as Nike, Columbia and Tektronix are headquartered here, and Intel’s largest and most advanced R&D and production base is also in the county. Washington County is the third largest agricultural production area in Oregon.

Relations with Yichang

Yichang’s friendly exchanges with Washington County started in environmental protection and grass planting experiments. In March 1998, Dr. Kitzhaber, Governor of Oregon, assigned Mr. John Miller to visit Yichang. The two sides agreed to carry out grass-planting experiments in Yichang for city improvement, animal feed, and water and soil conservation. Yidu City, Xiaoting District and Three Gorges Dam District were selected as experimental sites. The two sides signed theMemorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Forestry and Greening Cooperationand discussed establishing a joint venture. A total of 45,000 seedlings of 21 varieties from Oregon arrived in Yichang, and 1,000 kg of American ryegrass seeds were grown in parks and squares across Yichang. In May 2004, the Washington County delegation paid an official visit to Yichang, and signed theAgreement on Friendly Cooperation. Cooperation between the two sides has expanded to personnel training, culture and art, youth exchanges, economic and trade exchanges, and other fields. Oregon sent two delegations to the Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival. Washington County Sherwood Middle School and primary and secondary schools in Yichang have been engaged in frequent exchanges. Yichang has reached a number of cooperation intentions with Columbia, Genentech, and a water conservation institute in Washington County.