China: Beijing's city government hasn't quite got its head around allowing a parade yet, but the Irish community in the Beijing capital celebrated in the Irish embassy, while other expatriates donned black tie and finery for gala St Patrick's Day balls in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Beijing's St Patrick's Day ball is due to take place tonight in the appropriately named Kerry Centre, where a a special big screen is being set up for the crunch rugby match against England.
Conor Lenihan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, represented the Government.
He marked St Patrick's Day by making a donation of €5,000 to the Beijing National Vocational School, a project which offers education to the children of impoverished migrant workers and which is regularly supported by the Irish embassy.
Staff from the embassy also do volunteer work there.
Students fired questions at the former journalist and Mr Lenihan remarked on how the Irish and the Chinese both liked to share their culture with the world.
"This is primarily a business trip; it's about linking in with the Irish community and promoting trade, and talking to Irish and Chinese business people here to promote better engagement," the minister said.
Mr Lenihan also presented the inaugural George Bernard Shaw Essay Competition first prize to a Shanghai student at Fudan University, for a piece called "The Irish Women".
Booker winner John Banville gave a lecture at the Fudan gathering.
Ambassador Declan Kelleher and his wife Sigrun hosted Beijing's Irish community. There was an exhibition of paintings by the Russian artist Varvara Shavrova, whose husband Rory McGowan is an engineer building the enormous CCTV headquarters in Beijing.
