The Urbana city council heard a proposal Monday to adopt a sister city in China.

Josh Gu, a graduate student, gave a presentation about his hometown, Emei which Gu said means “eyebrow of a beautiful lady,” referring to the ridge of Mount Emei.

Virginia Waaler, director of the University’s China Executive Leadership Program, was present to show her support of the proposal.

“I know Richard Herman is very interested in China,” Waaler said. “I think it would be a wonderful way of showing that Urbana welcomes international students to join as sister cities.”

Gu said the cities are similar because they each convey a picture of the typical culture of both countries. He proposed potential cooperative projects involving tourism, exchange students and development of ideas concerning natural resource preservation and utilization.

Councilman Dennis Roberts (5) urged the council to consider the possible relationship between the cities in the next few weeks.

Roberts said Urbana personnel is in the process of gathering information to present to authorities in Emei who have shown a dedicated interest in developing a relationship.

If a decision is made to continue with the pairing, Roberts said that one of two possible courses of action would take place. The councils of both cities will make a proclamation of the partnership, or a relationship will be established through Sister Cities International, a non-profit citizen diplomacy network that acts as a middleman for cities.

Roberts said he believes the adoption of a sister city by Urbana city council would allow for “cultural and educational growth and the expansion of awareness” for the two cities.