TNAG-0941-FCO40-1160-Visit-by-Lord-Carrington--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-1980 — Page 227

CONFIDENTIAL

British businessmen in Peking.

Provincial Tour

10. There are several good, but no one outstanding

options for the very limited time available (about 10

days).

11. Sir Percy Cradock considers, and I agree that the

most interesting and practicable option would be to visit

Shanghai, with a side trip to Suzhou (or Hangzhou).

Shanghai would not be an original choice, but it is China's premier industrial city, and a major political and cultural centre. A visit there would be particularly appropriate, if Lord Carrington's visit is marked by agreement to establish a Consulate there. It would also

be much appreciated if Lord Carrington were ready to meet

informally the small British (and other) community. A

side trip by train to Suzhou, a pleasant town of canals

and traditional Chinese gardens, could easily be managed

in a day (5 October). If Lord Carrington wished to go

somewhere a little more exotic, he could (either instead of

or although this would be pushing it as well as

Suzhou) stop off for a few hours on 6 October at Urumqi,

the rather hick capital of Xinjiang Province.

12. The principal alternatives would be visits to:

a) Xian, in central China, the capital of several China dynasties with a stopover in Urumqi or Kunming (in

South-West China) as an optional extra;

b)

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Sichuan (Chengdu and/or Chungqing) economically an

extremely important province, but not touristically attractive with a stopover in Urumqi or Kunming as

an optional extra.

Lady Carrington

13.

It would be helpful to have some general advice on Lady Carrington's interests. In Hong Kong, she can

CONFIDENTIAL

/In Japan

nel hospices