HBISP News
​The latest projects and plans for future learning and discovery
Chinese Students' Visit to Hopetown
On 11th July 2025 Hopetown welcomed a group of 90 school students from China coming to explore the story of the world’s first commercial railway in the Stockton and Darlington Railway’s 200th year. The students, from schools in the cities of Baoding and Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province, Northern China had a special reason to visit - their province is home to China’s own first commercial railway, inspired by the success of the Stockton and Darlington. Proof, if needed, that Darlington is where the world changed.
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Return To Coventry
In July 2025 historic Coventry welcomed 90 Chinese students and their teachers as they returned to the city after a very successful visit last year. Students were taken on a guided tour by ‘Lady Godiva’ (Pru Porretta) accompanied by students and teachers from our local partner school, and fellow volunteers from the Coventry Lord Mayor’s Committee for Peace and Reconciliation. The visit finished with a reception with the Lord Mayor of Coventry.
What is a ‘conodont’ and why are they so useful?
One of our HBISP colleagues Lina Wang recently gave a fascinating talk about her research to the Kent Geology Group. Lina is an Associate Professor at the Hebei GEO University and is one of the world's leading experts on using conodonts to explore the conditions that occurred at the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction.
Read more here:
Shaping Future Stars: Charlton Athletic Coaches Train Next Generation of Chinese Footballers
In a new venture HBISP has teamed up with the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) to run week-long football courses in three Hebei cities.​
Three coaches from CACT ran training sessions for over 180 aspiring footballers in typical Hebei summer conditions.
Read more here:
Celebrating the Stockton & Darlington Railway
As part of our 2025 exchange programme we will be encouraging our Chinese and UK students to explore our shared railway heritage.
This year is the 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger railway – the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Also, one of our Hebei partner cities, Tangshan, is the site of the first Chinese passenger railway, albeit this was not opened until 1881.
Read more here:
