Chinese boy writes letter to Queen, receives reply from Buckingham Palace

Jin Hanmiao, a first grader from China, received a reply letter from Buckingham Palace recently after writing to introduce the China-Britain express railway service.

The letter is based on the 19-day journey of the first China-U.K. freight train. Seeing the news of its return to Yiwu, Jin's mother encouraged him to write about it and then send the letter to Queen Elizabeth II.

Jin Hanmiao holds the letter received from Buckingham Palace [Photo: thepaper.cn]

"I was just trying to encourage his interest in English, and was surprised when Buckingham Palace wrote back." Jin's mother said.

In his letter, Jin introduced himself and Yiwu, as well as his hope that the Queen would appreciate traditional Chinese culture. He also expressed his interest in the U.K., after mentioning some British celebrities and landmarks including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and the British Museum. He then sent his letter to the Queen.

Jin's mother helped translate the letter into English, and sent both the original letter and the translation to London on May 8. Two months later, they received a reply from Buckingham Palace. The letter talked about the living and working conditions of the Queen at an early age, and included a detailed introduction of the Palace.

The China Railway Express train left Yiwu on Jan. 1, carrying 34 containers of clothes, shoes, suitcases, and other goods made in China. The train passed through seven countries before entering the U.K. It returned on April 29, loaded with 32 containers of maternity products and soft drinks.

The China-Britain freight service paves a safe and efficient trade route by land, strengthening bilateral trade ties and better serving the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, according to the China Railway Corporation.