China would see royalty this coming March as Britain’s Duke of Cambridge is set to tour Beijing, Shanghai and the province of Yunnan together with incoming British ambassador to China, Janet Woodward.
For the very first time in nearly three decades, a British royalty in the person of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, would be visiting China and is expected to arrive on March 1.
The Duke of Cambridge would be joining the celebration of the Great Festival of Creativity in Shanghai, which would run from March 2-4, where he would speak about Britain's contributions to commercial creativity in the city.
Aside from this, the prince would likely visit the Shanghai research and development facility of Huawei, a top telecommunications provider all over the world.
He is also expected to visit wild elephants in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, where he would be promoting wildlife protection.
Though both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were invited to China, reports indicate that Kate Middleton would not be able to accompany her husband during the visit because she is already six months pregnant with their second child.
News about his visit was also well-accepted and even lauded by users of China's Twitter-like microblogging platform, Sina Weibo.
Royalties from Britain such as Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip have also visited China in the past, though that instance happened 29 years ago.
During her visit in 1986, the Queen of England toured some of China's centuries-old wonders such as the Great Wall, the ancient capital Xi'an, Shanghai, Kunming and Guangdong.
According to experts, visits from British royalties can be considered an important part of the United Kingdom's diplomatic effort.
"Royal visits are an important part of the U.K.'s diplomatic effort to build its global image. Prince William's visit at this point shows the U.K.'s willingness to improve its ties with China," said Chinese Academy of Social Sciences European studies researcher Tian Dewen.