The Chair of the Fife Chinese Association Mr. Derek Fong said, "It will be a pleasure to welcome fellow countrymen and women to Fife. Many of the Fife Chinese community come from the other side of the country and even speak a different language but it is good to see that part of the country opening up to the outside world"

Gansu is a rapidly developing province of north western China with a population of around 25 million (about half that of the UK as a whole). They are keen to open up trading links with the outside world and are interested in providing their students with overseas training opportunities.

The group will also visit Elmwood College that already has a number of Chinese students. Elmwood are opening up business and academic links with the Chinese and the Gansu province.

Convener of Fife Council Tom Dair said, "We welcome these ambassadors from Gansu and hope that their visit, although a short one, will be productive for both Fife and Gansu"

Gansu

Has a history stretching back over 6000 years and was once the starting point of the great Silk Road that

led to manufacturing centres in the middle east before the first millennium. The area probably has the greatest level of cultural diversity in China with Muslims, Tibetans, Mongolians and many other ethnic minorities.

The dry climate in parts of the Province has preserved many ancient paintings and manuscripts, including an entire library, which had been sealed in a cave in western Gansu since 1035 AD. This part of the Province is also where the Great Wall of China reaches its most northern and western limit.

Golden monkeys and giant pandas.

The scenery however is varied and in the mountains are lush forests with vast wildlife reserves containing rare animals such as golden monkeys and giant pandas.

Today, Gansu is a great crop rearing area with extensive cattle and sheep rearing country. The towns are centres of manufacture for textiles, electronics and petrochemicals.

A small group of VIPs from Gansu Province in China visit Fife this week. Thanks to the efforts and arrangements made by Fife Council and Fife's Chinese Community.

Mrs. Wu Bilian, Vice Governor of the province leads the group. They are particularly interested in exploring Fife's developing service economy as well as recent changes in organic agriculture