25th Anniversary Evening Under the Stars Gala 2013

Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association celebrated its 25th Anniversary Evening Under The Stars Gala at the Lan Su Chinese Garden Wednesday evening August 21, 2013. Twenty delegates, performers and artisans traveled from Suzhou China to attend PSSCA’s 25^th Anniversary Gala. Commissioner Amanda Fritz represented Portland City Hall and welcomed the delegation from Suzhou on this very special, celebratory occasion.

For the very first time in Portland, a sampling of the world renowned Suzhou Peony Opera, dating back to the Ming Dynasty was performed in the beautiful costumed tradition of the Kunqu Opera. Demonstrations of Suzhou silk embroidery and calligraphy were on hand as well as a “City Dreamscape” Exhibition at City Hall. The Gala would not be complete without a Chinese Dragon and Lion Dance.

Gate to the Garden and Gala opened at 6:30 pm at the same time the Silent Auction opened. Traditional Chinese music from the boat house and service from the wine bar was also provided, followed by a sumptuous buffet at 7 pm, and entertainment and program from 7:30 pm to 9 pm.

Suzhou Calligraphy Exhibition 2013

United States Exhibition of Wu School Calligraphy

On the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of the two cities, in order to further promote the cultural exchanges and increase the friendship between Chinese and US people, calligraphers from Suzhou visited Portland with sincerity to display 30 newly created pieces.  Suzhou hereby wishes the friendship between US and China everlasting. Suzhou is a noted historical and cultural city in China and the calligraphy in Suzhou is richly endowed by nature. “Wu School Calligraphy” in Ming Dynasty enjoys high reputation at home and abroad and forms the flourishing scene of “all the calligraphy schools in China regard Suzhou as forefather”.

      

Now Suzhou Calligraphy school has inherited the good traditions, carried forward the urban spirits of “cherishing literacy and wisdom, being open-minded and tolerant, seeking for excellence creation and accomplishing everlasting harmony” to dive into the innovation of calligraphy.  The calligraphy creation keeps harmonious development with the academic and educational activities. In December, 2007, Suzhou was honorably selected as the first “Noted Calligraphy City” in China, which unveils the new historical chapter of Wu School calligraphy.

Portland and Suzhou signed the sister-city agreement in June 1988 and for the past 25 years, both cities have achieved outstanding achievements in culture, education, garden and economic cooperation and exchanges.

August 2013

Model Sister Award 2012

Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association (PSSCA), at the invitation of the Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office, participated in the 2012 China International Friendship Cities Conference in Chengdu, China on September 11 to 14, 2012. Robert Fraser, President of PSSCA was invited to accept the ”Certificate of Honor” awarded to Portland for being a Model Sister City for “Communication and Cooperation with China”. The two-day conference with the theme, “Green Life, Happy Cities” was one of China's highest-level sister city exchanges, attracting delegations from 49 countries. More than 700 representatives from 95 foreign cities and 90 domestic cities attended the conference.

Delegates discussed their understanding on hot issues concerning cosmopolitan development, city transformation, emergencies and disaster relief, the aging of urban populations and investment. Robert Fraser made a presentation entitled “The benefits of developing and managing an urban growth boundary in Portland”, with emphasis on Portland’s plan for sustainable growth.

Delegates attended a seminar on city development as well as a forum on regional cooperation. Also discussed was a tourism alliance with its twin cities to try to reach a final agreement on the Chengdu Declaration that promotes tourism cooperation among the sister cities.

Established in 2008 and co-sponsored by Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Friendship Cities Association, the CIFCC provides a multilateral venue for local governments, their sister cities, and other international organizations to work together.