“COINect: Chinese Culture and Creativity,” a temporary exhibition of coins and medals from China, opened at London’s Royal Mint Court on June 8 as part of the second season of Shanghai’s cultural exchange program, Our Water.

Our Water: Flowing From Shanghai — Global City Dialogues on Humanities uses rivers as the medium to strengthen links between China’s eastern metropolis and other major cities worldwide. London, this year’s partner city, follows on from Paris in 2024.

Just as dynamic interactions among rivers, cities, and people have nurtured culture, Our Water seeks to foster mutual learning and development through open, inclusive, and flowing dialogues. Activities will focus on two significant waterways — Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek and the River Thames in London — exploring issues such as urban governance, economic innovation, industrial advancement, and cultural creativity.

“COINect,” which runs through June 14, displays 105 coins and medals housed at the Shanghai Mint Museum. Produced after 1949, they showcase various elements of Chinese culture, heritage, and history, spanning ancient to modern times.

Among the exhibits is a series of intricate commemorative medals created between 1998 and 2010 that depict the 12 zodiac animals, as well as artistically crafted coins that carry images of Chinese landmarks such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terra-cotta Army, and the classical gardens of Suzhou, and native species including the giant panda, South China tiger, baiji dolphin, and Yangtze alligator.

Some coins underscore Chinaʼs global cultural connections, including those made for the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics, both co-hosted by Beijing. Others explore cross-cultural dialogues such as the bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen, whose fairy tales form part of China’s elementary school curriculum, and Pucciniʼs “Turandot,” which presents a Western romanticized view of the country.

In addition, visitors can vote in the Our Water: U.K.-China Youth Coin Design Competition, co-organized by the USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry and the Brunel Design School at London’s Brunel University, in which students and designers were invited to create coin concepts inspired by Suzhou Creek and the Thames. The winning entry will be minted and turned into a commemorative coin.

Open forum

The launch ceremony for this season of Our Water was held alongside the London Forum at Whitehall Place on June 10, the International Day for Dialogue Among Civilizations. Dialogues at the forum explored how waterfront revitalization can foster urban innovation, while keynote speeches addressed sustainable transformation, creative symbiosis, community engagement, and resilient futures for urban waterfronts.

As rivers and trade have shaped both London and Shanghai, the event spotlighted financial synergies, including innovative financial cooperation models. One panel discussion on “Global Paradigms of Waterfront Economies and Financial Engines” heard insights from representatives at Shanghai’s International Financial Center and SPD Bank on Sino-foreign financial exchanges, finance’s role in advancing sustainability, and green bond innovation.

The forum, which coincided with London Tech Week 2025, also highlighted creativity and technology, with representatives from Shanghai and London — two UNESCO Creative Cities — exchanging experiences and practices. Shanghai aims to build an international cultural and creative hub, while London’s creative sector now accounts for 12.6% of its GDP.

Attendees also discussed low-carbon opportunities for creative industries, the design language of sustainability, green branding, and cross-border collaboration among waterfront business districts.

At the launch ceremony, officials from Shanghai’s Jing’an District joined representatives of the Greater London area and Northwest England’s port city Liverpool to unveil the Sino-British Waterfront Districts Sustainable Development Collaborative Initiative. This aims to promote resilient, smart, and inclusive waterfront futures, transforming urban waterfronts from spatial upgrades to eco-cultural-economic complexes, and establishing demonstration zones for U.N. sustainable development goals.

Displaying unity

In addition to “COINect,” the British capital will host an exhibition of archival images of Shanghai, a showcase of works by multimedia artists in the two partner cities, and an introduction to the Chinese city’s distinct cuisine.

“Codes of Tides,” running June 9 to 13 at the Troy House Art Foundation, features artistic interpretations of environmental data from the Huangpu and Thames rivers, as well as financial indexes like the Shanghai Composite and London Stock Exchange. Presented by Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Shanghai International Culture Association, the exhibition includes works by 10 artists spanning video, sculpture, installation, painting, and photography, initiating conversations on artificial intelligence, ecology, finance, biology, and the humanities.

Starting on June 10 at Whitehall Place, “Surging Tides of the Huangpu River,” presented by the Shanghai Local Chronicles Office, conveys a vivid image of Shanghai’s customs, transformations in its urban landscape, and historical changes that have shaped the city.

“A Bite of Shanghai,” on June 10 and 11, saw top chefs from China and the United Kingdom bring diners a multidimensional fusion of Eastern and Western cooking techniques, philosophies, and artistry at Cord by Le Cordon Bleu.

Meanwhile, on June 11, the Westminster College in Cambridge will host Forging Global Synergy: Cambridge Waterside Saloon, part of the Jing’an Moments Initiative, bringing together representatives from the university’s academic and industrial innovation sectors, Chinese global enterprises, and Jing’an professional service institutions.

Discussions will center on fostering an open, collaborative innovation community through multidimensional linkages in technology, capital, and services, driving bidirectional flow of innovative elements between China and the U.K.

Our Water aims to build platforms for international exchange, expanding Shanghai’s global network and fostering deeper understanding. The next phase of the program will convene in Shanghai later this year.

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(Header image: Visuals from 500px and Karl Hendon/VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)