On the heels of Beijing Culture Week, another series of Chinese cultural events with a regional focus has kicked off in the UK - the Discover Jiangsu Culture Week, which opened on Wednesday at Central Hall Westminster in central London.

"People in China and the UK enjoy a long-standing friendship, despite their geographical distance," said Cao Weixing, vice-governor of East China's Jiangsu province. "A case in point was the establishment of the sister city arrangement between Jiangsu province and Essex County in 1992."

Both regions have benefited greatly from their cooperation in the fields of economy, education, culture, tourism, environmental protection and human resources training, Cao said.

"We shared a little bit of Chinese history with a Terracotta Warriors exhibition in Essex four years ago, when China magnificently hosted the Olympic Games," says Kevin Bentley of Essex County Council. "That link carries on to this Olympiad - a precious jade exhibition is being held at the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Center of Essex."

The exhibition, titled Chinese Treasures, consists of 70 pieces of jade, pottery, bronze, china and lacquer from Nanjing Museum, in the capital city of Jiangsu province.

The Discover Jiangsu Culture Week also includes a number of other exhibitions.

The Jinling Paintings Exhibition features more than 60 oil paintings and traditional Chinese paintings by award-winning young Chinese artists. A Tale of Two Cities - Nanjing Meets London, compares Nanjing and London, and showcases Yunjin brocade and Buddhist sutra printing. The Great Wall - Photographs Then and Now juxtaposes old and new pictures of the wall from the last 140 years by both Chinese and Western photographers.

The government of Jiangsu province chose to hold the culture week during the London 2012 Olympic Games in order to promote the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Nanjing.

Gerhard Heiberg, chairman of the International Olympic Committee Marketing Commission, says the culture week is a great way to promote Jiangsu and announce that everyone is welcome in Nanjing, especially in 2014.

"I have been to Nanjing many times, and I think it's a wonderful, beautiful city," Heiberg says. "I'm sure the 2014 Youth Olympic Games will be a great success for Nanjing, for Jiangsu and for the International Olympic Committee."

Discover Jiangsu has toured more than 20 countries, including the US, France, Germany, Russia, Poland and Japan.

muqian@chinadaily.com.cn