First Impressions of London: A Lovely Get-Together Across the Globe

Written by Wang Li, Head of Communication and Promotion Department, Chengdu Museum (China, ITP 2026)

Hi everyone! I’m Wang Li, and I come from Chengdu in Sichuan, China. When you hear Chengdu, you’ll immediately think of fluffy giant pandas and spicy boiling hot pot. Here’s a fun little fact: the weather of my hometown basically soulmates with the UK. Both places have totally erratic weather and seem to rain nonstop all the time, so I instantly felt right at home after landing in Britain.

I work at Chengdu Museum, the biggest comprehensive city museum in Southwest China, as the Director of Communications and Publicity. I signed up for this ITP programme in London with pretty clear plans. Apart from learning how the British Museum designs its exhibitions and runs promotional campaigns, I also want to make lots of new contacts and figure out more ways to work together down the line.

Today is our official Welcome Day for the programme. I flew into London last Saturday, and honestly, I was completely shocked by how sweltering it is here this year. Our first day was jam-packed with activities. The project team were such lovely hosts; they organized a great roundtable session and took amazing care of all of us.

If I had to name my favorite part, it’s definitely the paired two-person Q&A chat. We didn’t stick to boring work questions at all—our topics were all over the place, mostly focusing on personal stuff instead. I absolutely loved this setup. Let’s be real: all business ties, personal feelings and cultural exchanges happen through people connecting with each other.

Through these casual back-and-forth questions, we not only bonded much faster, but I also felt really touched. Even though we’re from all different parts of the world, we actually think alike and share so many similar likes and dislikes.

There’s an old Chinese saying: mountains and rivers will always cross paths, and people truly connect only when they meet face to face. You can only really grow close to someone by meeting them in person, feeling their vibe and hearing them speak. In this internet era where we chat online all day, spending so much quality time talking face-to-face feels extra special.

I’ve heard that the chance for two strangers to meet in a foreign country is only 0.00487. Getting 22 participants from different countries and regions together is unbelievably lucky. This fantastic start has already made my upcoming study trip feel incredibly valuable and memorable.