On 17th April 2019, Consul General Zheng Xiyuan travelled to Chatsworth House upon invitation to meet with Peregrine Cavendish and Amanda Heywood-Lonsdale, 12th Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Consul Lyu Xiaomei and Chatsworth Estate's chief operating officer Mr. Ted Cadogan accompanied them.
The Duke of Devonshire welcomed Consul General Zheng's visit and introduced the history of Chatsworth House and origins of its collections. He said that Chatsworth, as one most popular House in Britain, is attracting more and more Chinese tourists, and hoped that with support of the Chinese Consulate General, Chinese tourists' experience will be constantly improved and the publicity of the House will be further expanded in China.
Consul General Zheng thanked the Duke and Duchess for their invitation and briefed them on recent Chinese economic and social development as well as Chinese tourists' expectations of UK tour. He pointed out that the ever-growing population of Chinese students, overseas Chinese and Chinese tourists serves as an ideal medium for expanding publicity of Northern England's cultural attractions in China, and expressed his willingness to maintain communication with the House in order to promote Sino-British exchanges and enhance people-to-people friendship to help Chatsworth House better exploit its merits, design collaborative projects and make the House a window for Chinese tourists to understand British culture.
