Yichang City and Ludwigsburg County, Germany
On May 3, 1995, Yichang City and Ludwigsburg County of Germany established a sister city relationship.
Ludwigsburg County is located in the center of Baden-Württemberg, the most economically developed region in Germany, about 12km from the downtown of Stuttgart. It covers an area of 687 square kilometers, has a population of 545,000, and governs 39 districts.
In May 1989, a delegation led by then Minister of the Bavarian Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs visited Yichang. They brought with them a letter from Mayor Hans Jochen Henke stating that they wish to develop friendly relations. Luo Qingquan, Mayor of Yichang at that time, replied in agreement.
In October 1992, Klinikum Ludwigsburg and Yichang First People’s Hospital began working together, and the two sides regularly sent medical personnel to the other to exchange and study. Experts from the hospital in Ludwigsburg came to Yichang to give lectures many times and trained a large number of its medical staff. The first laparoscopic equipment and artificial kidney equipment in Yichang were donated by Klinikum Ludwigsburg.
In the field of economy and trade, Yichang Resin Factory went to Ludwigsburg to negotiate with the DLW Company of Germany on the joint production of floor decoration materials in 1995.
In 1997, Ziemann Holvrieka Brewery Equipment Co., Ltd. of Germany came to Yichang to discuss with Monkey King Group about expanding brewery production cooperation.
From 2001 to 2003, Yichang City successively sent several batches of talents to join Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) programs, which were funded by The Steinbeis Foundation.
In 2006, representatives of the Yichang Qunyi Art Museum and Yichang Artists Association visited Germany to participate in the second “Neckar Art Festival,” where they exhibited their literary and artistic creations on site.
In 2009, the delegation of the DanceSport Association of Baden-Württemberg of Germany came to Yichang to participate in the World Youth Latin Dance Championships and achieved good results. From 2008 to 2019, more than 100 teachers and students from Schiller Gymnasium came to Yiling Middle School, Yichang where they held “Confucius Institute” summer camps for 11 years.
After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Ludwigsburg County immediately sent a letter of condolences to Yichang and spoke highly of Yichang’s efforts and achievements in epidemic prevention and control. After the outbreak of the epidemic in Germany, Yichang First People’s Hospital donated 3,000 medical masks to Klinikum Ludwigsburg.
