German Ambassador to China Michael Schaefer serves up hot spiced gluhwein to merry-makers at the embassy's holiday bazaar. Wu Hailang / for China Daily

The strudel crumbs had barely been swept away before the countdown began for the next German Christmas Charity Bazaar. "365 days left " the bazaar's website was headlined on Monday. Last Saturday dawned cold but sunny, and the usual lines started forming in front of the German embassy almost two hours before the gates opened at 11 am.

The fifth annual bazaar featured handicrafts "made by German ladies in Beijing all year" and plenty of good food and drink. The festivity drew about 4,500 people - 500 more than last year - and raised approximately 480,000 yuan, says Axel Gugel, director of the embassy's German Information Center. The proceeds support seven charities that benefit kids or the elderly: Little Flower Projects, Beijing Sun Village, Love & Hope (Beijing), Hope Foster Home, Beijing Huiling and Beijing Hongdandan. Representatives of the charities will receive their share of the funds at a ceremony at the embassy Dec 7.

* * *

Florin Opris, general manager of Romania's Vinju Mare winery, was pouring his company's premium offering at a tasting last week at his country's embassy in Beijing, and all eyes were on the label. "Prince Vlad", the bottle read in strong, elegant capitals, and the medal-winning Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 that flowed out of the bottle was the color of

"Well, we don't speak of Dracula," said Opris, anticipating questions about the mythic tales behind the Transylvanian ruler. "We speak of the nobility of the prince, and the great tradition of old vineyards."

Opris hopes to have Prince Vlad reds and several other wines in China's retail stores by sometime next year. If the eminently drinkable cab is the taste of things to come, China's up-and-coming wine consumers won't have any horrors about the man on the label.

* * *

EU Delegation Ambassador Markus Ederer hosted a VIP reception and dinner at Beijing's Kempinski hotel to celebrate the completion of the five-year EU-China Policy Dialogues Support Facility (PDSF).

The PDSF supported or carried out 26 activities, from one-day seminars to longer programs, covering a wide range of cooperation fields between the European and Chinese partners including pollution control, investment, coal-mine safety, environmental governance and multilingualism.

A two-year agriculture project involved 16 Chinese and European experts in the fields of non-point pollution control and ecological compensation.

* * *

Czech Ambassador to China Libor Secka hosted Milan Chovanec, governor of the Pilsen region and a large delegation of business executives from the area. Among them: Jan Hlavacek, technical director of Pilsner Urquell beer; Michal Kraus, CEO of Pilsen City Transportation Enterprises; Paul Jarolm, CEO and owner of the architectural firm A.D. Creative; and Miroslav Zeman, chairman of the Trade Chamber of Pilsen Region, who made a pitch to bring more Chinese investors to the Czech Republic.

Ivan Jachim, CEO of the Dominik Center, also met with Chinese officials and business executives, with a cultural agenda that included a possible tour by the Pilsen Philharmonic orchestra.

* * *

UK Ambassador Sebastian Wood gave a speech about British culture and creativity to about 400 students from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Wood said the UK pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, Paul Smith clothing, the design of the Guangzhou Opera house and the Harry Potter books were all outstanding examples of British creativity. "UK education encourages questions and independence of thought," he said, adding that freedom of expression was critical for independent culture to flourish.

Declaring Britain to be a hub of global civilization, he noted that one-quarter of UK's Nobel prize winners have been immigrants. That openness, he said, is beneficial to creativity and the world of science.

* * *

Norway's "black metal" band Trail of Tears continues its China tour, the Norwegian embassy announced, with stops in Shenzhen (Dec 2), Hong Kong (Dec 3) and Taipei (Dec 4). The group's first Asian tour began last week with stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou.

Send embassy news to mike.peters.cd@gmail.com.

(China Daily 12/04/2011 page5)