City introduction

Coventry, which was built in 1345, is in the Midlands of the United Kingdom, 153 km from London. It covers of 96.5 square kilometers and has a population of 306,000. On October 3, 1983, Coventry established a sister city relationship with Jinan.

Coventry is the birthplace of DaWa Legend and the motor city of the UK. It experienced German blitzkrieg during World War II, and is now an international peace settlement center.

Coventry is a city of investment and one of Britain's largest manufacturing centers with well-developed services and technology. There are 330 companies, more than 20,000 employees and more than 105 foreign-invested companies in the city. Since it is the hub of Britain's roads, railways and air traffic, transport is convenient. It only takes 20 minutes by train to Birmingham International Airport. The city has two famous British universities: Coventry University and the University of Warwick County. It is only half an hour's drive to William Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Coventry City Council is chosen by democratic election. The 54 members come from and serve 18 districts. The council holds a meeting once a month to discuss important policies and examine reports from 12 major committees. The mayor is chosen from the 54 members with a duty term of one year.

Coventry has 26 international friendship cities around the world.

Coventry and Jinan

For various reasons, Coventry and Jinan had no contact before 1994. However, the friendly relationship between the two cities entered a new stage after 1995. Since then leaders from both cities have paid friendly visits quite often. In recent years, the high-level visits have been as follows:

In October 2004, the mayor of Jinan, Bao Zhiqiang, led a delegation to visit Coventry. In March 2006, the then municipal Party committee secretary, Jiang Daming, led a delegation to Coventry. In October 2006, Ken Taylor, the mayor of Coventry, led a delegation to visit Jinan. In October 2008, Andrew Mattcharter, then mayor of Coventry, led a group to visit Jinan to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the two cities' sister relationship. In November 2008, Wang Shidui, the vice-chairman of CPPCC in Jinan, visited Coventry with a delegation. In December 2008, Duan Qingying, deputy director of the People's Congress in Jinan, visit Coventry on a delegation.