The program of the partnership visit included a tour of the Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Marbach, where the guests were able to get an idea of the Chinese lessons there. After a tour of Ludwigsburg Residential Palace, the group of visitors came to the district hall, where they signed the district's guest book. It was District Administrator Allgaier's first meeting with the partners from China. "The partnership with Yichang is close to my heart," emphasized the district administrator. Even if the relationship is repeatedly overshadowed by political discussions, I think it is important not to let the connections break down. "When people, especially students, from China and Germany visit each other to get to know the country and its people better, it is always a step towards understanding - and in these turbulent times, I think that is the right direction more than ever," continued the District Administrator.
The district of Ludwigsburg has been in partnership with the city of Yichang in central China since the early 1990s. Yichang has four million inhabitants and is located in the province of Hubei. The hospitals in the two partner regions in particular work very closely together. For around 25 years, specialist doctors and nursing staff have been visiting each other at the 1st People's Hospital in Yichang and the Ludwigsburg Clinic, where the specialists exchange information on the latest medical developments in the treatment of patients with various illnesses. In addition, the Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Marbach offers Chinese as a third foreign language and enables students to get to know the country and its people on an annual exchange program
