Meet the bridge-builders who developed ties between China and the UK

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Half a century ago, the Chinese and British governments agreed to exchange ambassadors, formally cementing a relationship that has become one of the most important for trade, investment, education and culture for both countries.

Building bridges across the decades

To celebrate the China-UK relationship, CGTN Europe introduces you to groundbreaking people who – through their work, social or family lives – have contributed to greater understanding between the two countries. We call them the Bridge Builders. Throughout 2022, on TV and online, you can meet inspirational people from the worlds of culture, music, sport, business and academia.

Our Bridge Builders include:

Stephen Perry

Stephen Perry isn't the first person in his family to be an icebreaker, working against the odds during difficult times to bring our two countries closer: Stephen's father Jack led the first trade mission from the west to China at the height of the Cold War in 1953. Sharing Jack's passion for Sino-UK relations, Stephen joined his father in 1972 and has played a crucial role in the globalization of Chinese trade.

During this time, he witnessed the transformation of China from agricultural economy to industrial powerhouse. It hasn't all been about trade, he also introduced football matches and musicals like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables to Chinese audiences. So what is the legacy of the icebreaking journeys, what has he learned about dealing with China, and what role does he think the new bridge builders should play?

Michael Wood

Historian and documentary maker Michael Wood is renowned in both countries for making China-related documentaries such as The Story of China and Du Fu. Chinese viewers have marveled at his profound understanding of their history and culture. He is famous as the Englishman who knows more about China than many Chinese people.

He is currently the president of the SACU, the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, an organization founded by Joseph Needham in 1965 to promote understanding and friendship between the British and the Chinese people. Wood is passionate about the shared histories of China and the UK in economic development and society and after spending time making his documentaries in China, he has acquired a new affection for the Chinese people.

The family Guo

Guo Yi was already successful in Beijing when his sister invited him to London. A master of the free-reed sheng, an ancient musical instrument, he was a popular member of the Peking Orchestra. He decided to take his chance to see the world and arrived in London in 1983. Busking outside a tube station, he was spotted by Irish band The Chieftains, who were taken by the similarities between his Chinese music and traditional Irish accordion music.

Yi and his brother toured with The Chieftains and then joined WOMAD for a career that spanned 17 years and included writing Hollywood scores for blockbuster movies. While busking he also met his English wife Manda; their son Toto bridges the two cultures, and in 2014 went to work as an actor and model in Beijing. During the pandemic he returned to the family home and they have begun a new career live-streaming their experiences of living in a mixed Chinese-British family. Their international audience of hundreds of thousands watch their anecdotes.

Shaun Gibson

Currently living in Beijing, musician and songwriter Shaun Gibson combines British and Chinese music. At a young age, Shaun learned he had an eye condition that would eventually blind him but his passion for music has driven him on. During his university years, he got to know a group of Chinese students from Suzhou, who showed him Chinese music and Chinese TV shows. And that's when his interest in Chinese culture was ignited.

After university, he decided to see China for himself. So he embarked on a journey to discover the country's scenery and ancient sounds. His biggest culture shock has been the many similarities between the two countries. Now Shaun combines Chinese music and English lyrics and he also creates music with sounds he discovered in China. He has more Chinese fans than British fans and he hopes one day he can introduce elements of Chinese music to audiences at home.

Zoe Reed

Zoe Reed is the daughter of a British mother and a Chinese father, whose heritage was hidden from her until she was an adult. Even regular weekends with Joseph Needham and his wife in Cambridge didn't prepare her for the fascinating links her father had with the establishment of modern China.

When she discovered his story, she embarked on a journey to find her father and embrace her Chinese heritage. Zoe has written a book A Bridge Between Hearts detailing her journey.

Frances Wood

It was through deciding to challenge herself at university by reading Mandarin that Frances Wood's connection with China began. From a family of linguists, the beauty and nuances of the language always fascinated her and after becoming one of the first western students to visit the country in the 1970s she made it her life's work.

The highlight of her career has been her work at the British library preserving some of the world's oldest literature particularly the Diamond Sutra - an ancient Chinese manuscript and the world's oldest surviving printed book.

Alex Hua Tian

After spending his early life in China, Alex Hua Tian moved to the UK where he studied at Eton School and developed into a world class equestrian. Despite settling down in northern England, his Chinese heritage remains a defining part of his character, which is why he chose to represent China at top level sport - including the Olympics.

He believes the values of horsemanship can unite the two countries that mean so much to him.

Jerry Grey and Ann Liang

Jerry Grey arrived in China in 2003 on a year's contract teaching English, little did he know that 19 years later he would still be there after finding love, a career and adventure that continues to this day. Ann Liang, a local Chinese teacher met and married Grey and joined him on his travels across China to raise money for the disabled. The experience inspired her to make her own journey across China on foot.

Martin Gordon

As a well respected and successful international banker with many contacts across China, Martin Gordon was looking forward to retirement with his long term partner Barry. But Barry's life was cut short in 1996 when he contracted HIV and then AIDS. Gordon promised his partner he would spend his later years tackling HIV and improving AIDS care across China and founded The Barry and Martin's Trust which has become well known in medical circles across China for it's knowledge sharing, collaboration and prize giving for excellence in nursing and medical care.

Max Burns

Brought up in Beijing until he turned 13 by a Bulgarian mother and English father, Max Burns is one of the new generation of global citizens. When he moved to Brighton, England in 2016 he found he missed his Chinese culture and friends. Fluent in Chinese with a flair for cooking, he decided to recreate the Chinese dishes and festivities he missed from China on social media. He is on a mission to teach the West about Chinese culture and cuisine and in return show his Chinese followers English festivities and culture.

READ MORE: EDUCATION THROUGH FUN AND FOOD

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