Baoding, China
Baoding (Bow-DING) is over 2300 years old and one of the largest cities in the Hebei Province. On January 12, 1987, the Mayor and Charlotte City Council passed the Declaration that officially joined Charlotte and Baoding as Sister Cities. Baoding and Charlotte have enjoyed being Sister City partners ever since.
Charlotte and Baoding have a rich relationship consisting of successful educational events and international exchanges. Some of our highlights include the UNCC University Exchange, our first delegation trip to Baoding, and the Chinese Children’s Art Exhibit at the Mint Museum of Art.
About Baoding
Located only 70 miles from Beijing and founded in 1200 B.C. by the Han Dynasty, the City of Baoding is over 2300 years old. Baoding is located in the Hebei Province of China. Baoding has recently become a center for the energy industry in China. Its economy is also based on production of film, chemicals, food and textiles. Two well-known fruits of Baoding include the strawberry and the Manchen Snow Peach. Baoding became our Sister City in 1987.
Baoding Boat III
2024 Charlotte Asian Festival & Dragon Boat Race
On May 11, 2024, the Charlotte Sister Cities Dragon Boat once again returned to Lake Norman, this time in partnership with the South Academy of International Languages. Over the course of three heats, the team unified and paddled hard, finished in third place out of over a dozen teams in the ametour division. An information tent was once again set up, provided information for the thousands who attended this year’s Charlotte Asian Festival. 2024 paddlers included: Johnelle Causwell, Ben DeSollar, Gretchan Frederick, Katie Kilroy, Jason Klink, Melisa Klink, Thanh-Thu Luong, David Lynn, Josiah McGinnis, Kathy Melendez, Manish Mittal, Nandini Mittal (Drumer), Vy Nehm, Kristina Pisklova, Ming Qi, Jeff Spencer, Quyen Spencer, Kelly Willis. Niketa Mittel served as a table volunteer and provided team support.
Baoding Boat II
2022 Charlotte Asian Festival & Dragon Boat Race
On October 9, 2022, the Charlotte Sister Cities Baoding Boat once again paddled as part of the Charlotte Asian Festival, winning its final race of the day. Thank you to our sponsors: Prudential Financial, Wendy Shao, Wells Fargo, and TW Insurance. Paddlers and Volunteers: Karen Bent, Eunice Bent, Johnelle Causwell, Alicia Emmons, Rasmus Erlemann, Dr. Felicia Eybl, Yongling Gorke, Anna Hesse, Bora Kazmirci, Hao Liu, Luis Lobo, David Lynn, Drake Lynn, Rich Majerus, Andrea Matías-Lemoine, Manish Mittal, Megha Mittal, Nandini Mittal, Niketa Mittal, Emmanuel Omari, Maddie Person, Councilman Gregory Phipps, Shane Polefko, Ming Qi, Leslie Sellers, Diane St. John, Ella Sintajova, and Kelly Willis.
Baoding - Charlotte 35th Anniversary
2022 Lunar New years Video
In partnership with the Chinese American Association of Charlotte, Charlotte Sister Cities welcomed the Year of the Tiger and celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Baoding-Charlotte partnership with a virtual celebration on Saturday, February 5th. Click on the image below to view the video message sent to Baoding.
Baoding Boat I
2021 Charlotte Asian Festival & Dragon Boat Race
On October 23, 2021, the Charlotte Sister Cities Baoding Boat paddled its way to a second-place finish in the amateur category at the Charlotte Asian Festival. Thank you to the City of Charlotte for sponsoring our boat and to Polly Outhay - First Financial Security, Inc. for sponsoring our t-shirts. The 2021 Paddlers and Volunteers included: Honor Captain – Councilman Gregory Phipps, Fermin Abarca, Nikhil Basu, John Bushe, Johnelle Causwell, Qiong Cheng, Sam Farnham, Yongling Gorke, Min Jiang, Bora Kazmirci, Katelyn Kazmirci, Vivian Lee, David Lynn, Rich Majerus, Manish Mittal, Niketa Mittal, Nandini Mittal, Christa Newkirk, Xiaoxia Newton, Emmanuel Omari, Polly Outhay, Will Patten, Ming Qi, Nora Sjue, Diane St. John, Luming Wang, Jian Zhang, and Ying Zhang.
Our Sister City Relationship
Our relationship with Baoding was established in 1987.
A Look Back: the 20th Anniversary Website
Starting in 2007, there was a course on Wednesday nights on the UNCC campus that consisted of four international public relation students, including an exchange student from South Korea, and two informational technology students. The instructor was a Charlotte Sister Cities Board Member. The goal of the course was to honor the 20th anniversary of the Charlotte-Baoding Sister Cities relationship and create a functional website showing the heart of Charlotte to the people of Baoding. The students conducted research by networking and exchanging e-mails with students in Baoding to gain an appreciation of the target audience for the website. Through their inquiries, students learned about the culture of Baoding and more about Charlotte Sister Cities. The innovative cross-cultural communication gave the students important leads to what stories would be most interesting and created lasting international connections.