Related Links

This page provides a listing of some of the key China-related organisations in Scotland, and other useful resources, in the following categories (click on each to fastlink down the page) :

Cultural and general organisations
Chinese and community organisations
Universities, colleges, academic and research organisations
Schools and educational resources
Commercial and networking
Government and official
Selected media and information websites (many of the Chinese sites listed are valuable for language learners, as well as the news !)

If you would like your organisation to be considered for listing on this web site, please send details of your organisation to our Website Editor.

Cultural and general organisations
Ricefield Chinese Arts & Cultural Centre www.ricefield.org.uk	Ricefield was established in 2004 by two prominent figures in printing and graphic design within the Glasgow Chinese community, Lin Chau and Julia Hung, and is now supported by a wide range of individuals and organisations who share a passion for Chinese arts and culture. Ricefield aims to support and promote Chinese arts and culture in Scotland by providing professional support and opportunities in Scotland to artists of Chinese descent, promoting the development and traditions of Chinese arts and culture in Scotland, providing the mainstream and other minority ethnic communities with greater accessibility to Chinese arts and culture, and nurturing creative activity within the Chinese communities.
Scottish Churches China Group www.sccg.org.uk/	SCCG is a Christian ecumenical group that aims to increase understanding of poorly reported dimensions of China’s society, and to support and encourage work for and among the needy of China.
British Acupuncture Council www.acupuncture.org.uk/	The British Acupuncture Council is the leading self-regulatory body for the practice of traditional acupuncture in the UK. The Regional Co-ordinator for the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland group is Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott, a longstanding member of the SCA. Jonathan has contributed an article on traditional Chinese medicine to the October 2014 issue of our magazine, Sine.
Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre www.samyeling.org/	Established in 1967, the Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre, near Eskdalemuir, in south west Scotland, was the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre established in the West. It is a centre for wisdom and learning within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and is open to people of all faiths and none.
Chinese community organisations
Chinese Community Development Partnership	CCDP is the central point of contact and information between the Chinese community in Glasgow and the local authorities, public bodies and voluntary organistions. They also organise the annual Chinese New Year celebration and a quarterly newspaper ‘Chinese Community News’, and hold a database of Chinese arts organisations and Chinese performers in the city.
Edinburgh Chinese Culture Association	The Edinburgh Chinese Culture Association (ECCA) was established in 2008 as a voluntary organization. Its objectives are to help local people to understand more about Chinese culture, custom and traditions ; to build friendship within Chinese communities and with other races in Scotland ; and to facilitate links between Scotland and China.
Edinburgh Chinese Association of Professionals	Edinburgh Chinese Association of Professionals (ECAP) was established in 2003, and aims to serve Chinese professionals and their families in Edinburgh and to represent their interests and needs. Contact: ecap.scotland@gmail.com
Universities, colleges, academic and research organisations
Confucius Institute for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh www.confuciusinstitute.ac.uk	The Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh was the first such Institute in Scotland. It was set up in 2007 with Sino-Scottish government backing, to promote the teaching of Chinese language and culture in Scotland, and to help develop effective Sino-Scottish business, cultural and academic links. It has a very active programme of language teaching, lectures, cultural activities and other events.
Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk/about/confucius/	This was the second Institute in Scotland, and is a partnership with Nankai University in Tianjin. It builds on long-standing research collaborations between the two universities and is strongly founded on research on China across the University of Glasgow in the social sciences, arts, and business.
Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools at the University of Strathclyde www.strath.ac.uk/ciss/	The third was the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools, launched on 6 June 2012 at Strathclyde University. The Institute focuses on offering support to schools around Scotland in their teaching of Chinese language and culture. It works with the Confucius classroom hubs, with the intention of expanding the network in primary and secondary schools across the country. This Institute takes forward some of the co-ordination role previously undertaken by the now defunct Learning & Teaching Scotland. It is based in the University-based SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, part of the University of Strathclyde’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Confucius Institute at the University of Aberdeen www.abdn.ac.uk/confucius/	The Confucius Institute of the University of Aberdeen opened in September 2013. It aims to provide Chinese language teaching and culture classes and cultural events to the North East Scotland community, including University staff and students, schools, business and industry, and community organisations and individuals.
Confucius Institute at Heriot-Watt University http://www.confuciusinstitute.hw.ac.uk/	The Scottish Confucius Institute for Business and Communication at Heriot-Watt University was announced on 5 November 2013, during First Minister Alex Salmond’s fourth visit to China. It is focusing on promoting Chinese language for business and Chinese business culture in Scotland, and began to host events from early 2015.
Scottish Centre for China Research, University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/sccr/	Based in the University of Glasgow’s School of Social & Political Sciences, the Scottish Centre for China Research brings together scholars doing research on China across a range of social science disciplines in Scottish universities. Its members include researchers at the Universities of St Andrews, Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh and Dundee as well as Glasgow. The Centre aims to foster high-quality social science research on China and promote multidisciplinary research collaboration among centre members ; to build strategic research capacity in the social sciences of China for Scotland and the UK ; to promote understanding of China by disseminating research and making expertise on contemporary Chinese economy, politics & governance, and society accessible to the wider community ; to develop and support research links with Chinese scholars, universities and research institutes.
Aberdeen Chinese Studies Group www.abdn.ac.uk/csg/	The CSG was founded in May 1989 by scholars of the University of Aberdeen with the aims of developing the inter-disciplinary study and discussion, on an academic and strictly non-political basis, of all aspects of Chinese social, political, economic and cultural development. The CSG also aims to encourage and establish links with other educational establishments, members of the public, local organisations and the local business community having personal, educational or business interests in China. Meetings and talks are open to the public.
Schools
Scotland China Education Network www.scen.info/	The Scotland China Education Network (SCEN) exists to promote the learning of Chinese and about China in Scottish schools, and to encourage educational links between Scottish and Chinese schools by bringing together those involved to share experiences and good practice.
Edinburgh Chinese Community School www.eccsonline.com	The Edinburgh Chinese Community School (ECCS) was founded in 2000, and is based within the campus of Liberton High School. The mission of ECCS is to promote the Chinese language, culture and the advancement of community education.
Alba Cathay Chinese School www.accschool.org.uk	The Alba Cathay Chinese School was founded in 1994, and is based within the campus of Boroughmuir High School. The objective of the School is to provide everyone, both children and adults, with an opportunity to learn Chinese language as well as Chinese culture.
Glasgow Chinese School www.glasgowchineseschool.org	The Glasgow Chinese School was the first of its kind in Scotland, and opened in 1972. It was originally based in Garnetbank Primary School in Garnethill, but moved to Stow College in Shamrock Street in 1988. The School’s tradition is in the provision of mother tongue teaching for Scottish born Chinese children. However, with the growing demand for Chinese learning amongst the wider community, Glasgow Chinese School now offers lessons in Mandarin and Cantonese at various levels.
Commercial and networking
China-Britain Business Council www.cbbc.org	CBBC is the UK’s leading organisation helping British companies in China, and delivers a range of practical services to companies wishing to export or invest. They have offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow and an active Scottish membership, and China offices in Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Xi’an.
Scottish Development International www.sdi.co.uk	SDI is the Scottish Government’s investment promotion arm, and aims to attract foreign investment to Scotland and provide information about doing business in Scotland, as well as supporting Scottish investments and trade overseas. It has China offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
SCDI www.scdi.org.uk	The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) is an independent membership network, which strengthens Scotland’s competitiveness by influencing Government policies. It has organised many China trade missions since 1971 (see SCDI website for details of recent trips).
Asia Scotland Institute www.asiascot.com	Set up in 2013, the ASI aims to promote awareness, understanding and collaboration between Scotland and Asia to create mutually enriching economic, cultural and educational opportunities, thereby enabling the people of Scotland to engage effectively with the people of Asia for a shared future. Their mission is achieved through mounting unique programmes that provide engagement and access to innovative thinking, ideas and initiatives as well as by supporting the Asia programmes of other organisations in Scotland and initiatives in the countries of Asia in the areas of Policy & Politics, Business & Economics and Arts, Culture & Education. The ASI holds regular events in Edinburgh and Glasgow – see their website for more details.
Young Chinese Professionals Scotland	Launched in June 2010, the Young Chinese Professionals Scotland (YCPS) is a key network that aims to unite and promote young Chinese professionals in Scotland, and to facilitate the positive developments between Scotland and China through linking with all groups interested in Scotland-China partnerships.
Government and official
UK Government and China Website	This is the main page for information on UK government relations with China, with links to travel advice, business information and political links. Other useful UK government pages include this one, with regular political and economic updates on China from the British Embassy in Beijing and Consulates at Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing (scroll down the alphabetic list for China), and this one from UK Trade & Investment.
British Council scotland.britishcouncil.org	The British Council is the UK government’s main international cultural and education body. In terms of China, it encourages educational links, language teaching and other programmes. For details of its Scotland China School Links Programme see here. The Council also operates the Saltire Scholarship, open to Chinese nationals (and some others) and is aimed at encouraging bright, talented and hard working individuals to live, work and study in Scotland. £2,000 is available as a one off award towards the cost of tuition fees for various courses in a wide range of subject areas, at any of Scotland’s universities and higher education institutions. For more details, see here.
Chinese Consulate-General in Edinburgh edinburgh.china-consulate.org/eng	The Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh represents the Chinese Government in Scotland. Note that visa services for visitors to China are provided by a separate China visa centre in the city, see below.
China Visa Centre https://bio.visaforchina.cn/EDI3_EN	Since autumn 2012, visa services for visitors to China are provided by a China visa centre in Edinburgh, rather than the Consulate.
Selected media and information websites (see also the ChinaInfoScotland site)
Xinhua English website Chinese website	Xinhua, established in 1931, is the official state news agency of the People’s Republic of China. It carries a wide range of stories about all aspects of China’s diplomatic, economic, social and cultural life, in English, Chinese and other languages.
Gov.cn English website Chinese website	Another useful official site, this is the official website of the Central Government of the PRC, with news, profiles of senior leaders, and many handy links to other official government websites, many in English.
China Daily English website Chinese website	This publication is primarily aimed at a foreign audience, both in China and overseas. As well as its website, it now publishes a fortnightly hard copy newspaper that can be found in some outlets in Scotland. Free copies are usually available at Abden House, base of the Confucius Institute in Edinburgh.
People’s Daily English website Chinese website	Established in 1946, this is the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. It has English and Chinese websites.
CCTV English website Chinese website	CCTV is the Chinese national state broadcaster. It has a multiplicity of channels, in various languages, with 18 free-to-air and 22 pay-to-view (listed on Wikipedia here). The main ones are CCTV1, for general news ; CCTV4, for international news in Chinese ; and CCTV News (formerly CCTV9), for news in English. The main English site carries a selection of programmes from all channels, while CCTV News is news-based.
South China Morning Post Website	The SCMP is Hong Kong’s main English language newspaper, established in 1903. It often manages to publish stories that cannot make the media in China, as well as comprehensive coverage of business and other news in Hong Kong. It can usually be found in hard copy in major hotels in Beijing and Shanghai late on the day of publication. The website version requires a subscription to see all the content.
Caixin English website Chinese website	Caixin is a weekly news magazine published in China, with hard copy and websites in English and Chinese, focusing on business and the economy. It also covers some social issues and often produces some excellent investigative journalism.