Hot air balloon to 'build bond' with Chinese city

Dennis Hu and Ben Hardy share a love of ballooning and their home towns

A new hot air balloon is being made with the aim of creating a bond between a Chinese and British city.

Cameron Balloons' creation will promote the Chinese city Changsha at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

Europe's largest ballooning event has returned to Ashton Court Estate until 11 August.

"It's really great that we're using ballooning as a cultural exchange between our two countries and our two cities," said the fiesta's executive director Ben Hardy, who hopes the event will be held in Changsha in the future.

The large white and black balloon says "Changsha China" on the front

The project is a collaboration with Dennis Hu, cultural and tourism director of the Bristol and the West of England China Bureau.

He said he was "very proud" more people from Changsha, in the Hunan Province, would know about Bristol and its balloon fiesta, and also that he was able to introduce the culture and tourism of his hometown at the event.

He explained the two cities share a similarity, with ballooning also being "very popular" in China.

"Bristol is an amazing city. I know there's 91 different languages spoken here, it's very, very international and the cultural exchange plays a very, very important role here."

The balloon needs to undergo final safety checks before the event next week

Mr Hu said his team had taken delegates from Bristol to Changsha when the idea of making the balloon came up to present the province "to the world via the balloon fiesta".

He added it was "really, really exciting" to see the almost-finished balloon.

"It would be great to bring this whole massive, exciting event to a city in China," said Mr Hardy.

"It would be amazing."

Mr Hardy said there were a couple of new balloons, with 120 balloons in total entering the fiesta this year

Mr Hardy described the Changsha project as "really rewarding" for the whole fiesta team.

"I've known Dennis for a number of years now," said Mr Hardy.

"He's got the bug [for ballooning] like all Bristolians have."

He added ballooning attracted a "great global community".

Cam Dunnington is training to be a hot air balloon pilot, something many of his family members have done

Twenty-one-year-old Cam Dunnington is part of the team who made the special balloon. His work involves making the final safety checks.

As Mr Hu came to look at it, Mr Dunnington said at first it was "quite nerve wracking".

But he said the job was "a great thing to do".

"You get to fly, as well as see different places in the world.

"All my mates have just normal jobs. This is just very different.

"It's quite a hard thing to explain."