Sister city since: January 31, 2018

Overview

Swansea is a coastal city in southwest Wales, about three hours’ drive from London. It is the second largest city after Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and the 25th largest city in the UK. The city covers an area of 380 square kilometers and has a population of about 247,000, accounting for 8% of the total population of Wales. Most local people speak English and Welsh dialect. Swansea was the key center of the copper-smelting industry, earning the nickname Copperopolis during the Industrial Revolution.

Relations with Wuhan

High-level visits

In October 2016, Mr. David Hopkins, Mayor of Swansea, and Mr. Rob Stewart, Speaker of Swansea City Council, visited Wuhan and jointly hosted the UK Wales Week with Wuhan.

In March 2017, representatives of Swansea City Council came to Wuhan to participate in the Extraordinary City Week. Both sides exchanged views on cooperation in urban construction and planning, low-carbon transportation, sustainable development, and culture.

Business

In November 2017, Mr. Rob Stewart, Speaker of Swansea City Council led a government and business delegation to Wuhan and participated in the Investment Promotion Conference for Fortune Global 500 and World-renowned Foreign Companies.

Culture and Education

In June 2018, the 34th Wuhan International Chucai Writing Competition set up a UK Division for the first time, enabling students in Swansea and its surrounding regions to participate in the competition.

In July 2018, the Wuhan “Little Diplomats” delegation paid a visit to Swansea, which helped promote Wuhan to its sister city in an all-round way and enhanced mutual understanding and building stronger ties.

Sports

In May 2018, Patrick Collins, head of the international business department of Swansea City Football Club, led a five-member team to Wuhan Football Association and Wuhan Furen Primary School. The delegation signed a MOU with Wuhan University of Technology on promoting football exchanges.

Medicine

Swansea City is the hometown of Dr. Griffith Yang, founder of Wuhan Union Hospital. In November 2012, a delegation of Wuhan Union Hospital visited Swansea and established a cooperative relationship with Swansea University. Since 2012, the two sides have been engaged in robust exchanges on clinical treatment, medical education and scientific research. Wuhan Union Hospital and Swansea University signed a strategic cooperation agreement. They co-hosted the International Medical Education Conference, China-Britain Nano and Regenerative Medicine Seminar, and jointly established Wuhan Union Hospital (China)-Swansea University (UK) Joint Medical Centre.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Swansea and Wuhan have sent sympathy messages to each other to express support. Union Hospital has held virtual meeting with Swansea to share the experience in Covid-19 prevention and treatment.