On the morning of August 4, 2015, His Excellency Liu Xiaoming addressed an audience at the Chinese Embassy in London announcing the beginning of the China culture season in the UK as China's part of the 2015 China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange.

Marking the significance of this exchange, Mr Liu spoke of how China and the UK both have proud ancient traditions and have made contributions to human civilisation. Giving China's 5000 years of unbroken civilisation, and the UK's contributions to science and finance during the Enlightenment and the Industrial  Revolution as examples, Mr Liu highlighted how the exchange -- which coincides with President Xi's planned October state visit -- mark a "milestone and a golden time for China-UK relations".

This year of cultural exchanges, the first of which China has held in Western Europe, will create stronger ties not only between the two states but also between the peoples of the two nations.

Chinese cultural events in the UK began in late July with the National Theatre of China's Mandarin production of Shakespeare's Richard III at the Globe Theatre in London; similarly the Royal Shakespeare Company is currently translating Shakespeare into contemporary Mandarin, while also selecting Chinese works from Shakespeare's time (1564-1616) to translate in to English.

As part of the events being held, various different Chinese arts will have a large presence at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, as well as numerous other confirmed UK cities.

Global stars of the classical music world, pianists Lang Lang and Wang Wujia will both be wowing audiences with their own classical styles at Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, the Royal Lyceum Theatre will show examples of China's creativity in theatre and dance with a production titled "Dragon", and performances from TAO Dance Theatre.

“Dragon" is said to be a visually stunning silent play that features fast moving theatre, puppetry, and original music; while TAO Dance Theatre is one of the world's most sought-after dance companies, even being named by Timeout New York as one of the "10 Best Dance Shows of 2014".

A most notable event for the China season in the UK is the inclusion of a People's Liberation Army (PLA) orchestra in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The tattoo is an event held in front of Edinburgh castle that includes over 1,200 performers from around the world and boasts a live audience of over 200,000 people and a television audience of tens of millions.

Attending this morning's press conference after last night's dress rehearsal of the tattoo, the show's producer Brigadier David Allfrey remarked how outstanding the PLA orchestra's performance was, and what a colourful addition other Chinese performers will add to the event.

Not limited to Edinburgh, the offerings of China's innovation and creativity can be seen in Liverpool and London where China National Peking Opera Company, accompanied by crew from the classic film "Farewell to My Concubine", are performing  some of China's most famous musical heritage.

Creating dialogue between fashion industries, Shanghai International Fashion Centre and Shanghai Fashion Week Organising Committee will bring Chinese fashion designers to London for the September London Fashion Week  to bring together creative talents from the two countries.

Also occurring during London fashion week will be an interdisciplinary arts show offering a panoramic view  of mainstream fashion culture in China.

The events talked about during the presentation at the Chinese Embassy in London were but a selection of the creativity and innovation that the UK audience and tourists will be treated to in the coming months. For more information on events visit the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China at www.mcprc.gov.cn.