2nd British Embassy Open Day held in Beijing

Martyn Roper, British Embassy Charge d'Affaires shows his favourite Shakespeare quote at British Embassy Open Day in Beijing on Saturday, June 25, 2016. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

The British Embassy held its second annual Open Day event at the British Ambassador to China's Residence on Saturday in Beijing.

This year's event commemorates two special events for the UK - the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 400th anniversary of the death of world-renowned British playwright, William Shakespeare.

Mr. Martyn Roper, British Embassy Charge d'Affaires, said "the British Embassy Open Day is a very special event as we open up for the Chinese public to come and discover all the many aspects of what makes the UK so unique, from culture, to education, tourism and business."

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, the British Embassy Open Day organized a large-scale 'scavenger hunt' and provided an opportunities for guests to learn more about the Shakespeare's great works.

Roper said that studying Shakespeare today can help people understand the present and its link to the future, because even though Shakespeare wrote 400 years ago, his work still has meaning for all of us today.

Meanwhile, an indoor photo exhibition on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and China: State Visits in 1986 and 2015 invited the public to relive the two state visits, demonstrating the close ties between the great nations of Britain and China.

A mother named Li Xiaoyan took her 6-year old son to attend the event. She said that she wanted her son to know the world and to be open to another culture at a younger age, and she also wanted to know how her son would react when attending at an international event.