Catherine Mallyon, executive director of Royal Shakespeare Company, delievers a speech at the opening ceremony of China Culture Season in the UK.[Photo by Zhang Zhouxiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Catherine Mallyon, executive director of Royal Shakespeare Company, said the company is planning to translate Chinese classics into English as part of the cultural exchange.

Keith Nichol, head of cultural diplomacy at the British Department of Culture, Media & Sport, called 2015 "a springboard to encourage more tourist flow on both directions".

"It is really important that culture-to-culture exchanges embrace the whole of the UK so that people get the chance of visiting them," Nichol said.