Sonoma, meet your new sister city: Penglai, China.
The Sonoma City Council voted to add the coastal city, one of China’s premiere grape growing and wine producing regions, to its roster of Sister Cities around the world.
Penglai, population 450,000, borders the Yellow Sea, with Korea and Japan to the east.
Tourism and wine are its top industries.
The partnership will extend well beyond promoting friendship and cultural understanding, according to Bill Boerum, president of the Sonoma Sister Cities Association. “This is a completely different type of relationship than what we’ve had before,” he said. “This is an economic development relationship, with potential benefits to both sides in job creation and business growth.”
Councilmember Ken Brown said, “This will be a positive thing for our vineyards, our wineries and our wine industry.”
A delegation from Penglai visited Sonoma in September, meeting with civic and business representatives to propose a relationship based on common interests in tourism and winemaking. Wednesday’s unanimous council vote makes it official.
Penglai produces one of every five bottles of wine in China. The growing Chinese middle class — larger than the entire population of the United States — is consuming wine at rates exceeding 90%.
“The delegation said there is interest in exchanging wine technologies as well as purchasing bulk and bottled wine from Sonoma Valley,” said Boerum.
A fortified harbor hidden from the sea, Penglai is one of China’s oldest military ports, built in 1376. Coastline beauty, modern amusement parks and sites of ancient historical interest make it one of China’s top domestic tourist destinations.
Speaking to China’s poor record on human rights, Mayor Steve Barbose acknowledged, “they have a ways to go. But establishing economic relations will do more to bring about change.” Councilmember Ken Brown agreed. “The whole idea of sister cities is to bring people together, not keep them apart.”
The mission of the Sister Cities movement, Boerum said, “is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation — one individual, one community at a time.”
As a Sister City of Sonoma, Penglai joins Aswan, Egypt; Greve, Italy; Patzcuaro, Mexico; Kaniv, Ukraine; and Chambolle-Musigny, France.
Some of those relationships have gone dormant over the years, Councilmember
Joanne Sanders said. She urged that each partnership be meaningfully maintained, or nullified in favor of a more fruitful and alliance.
“There’s only so much room on the letterhead,” she joked.
Councilmember August Sebastiani agreed. “These relationships are good as long as they’re flourishing and active.” If not, they should be decommissioned, he said.
Mayor Barbose said that he had recently received a letter from his counterpart in
Greve, Sonoma’s Sister City in Italy. After a lengthy period of inattention, the letter is a signal “that we will renew and revitalize that relationship.”
Anyone interested in the Penglai Committee or any of the other city committees can contact Boerum at 996-7005.
