SHANGHAI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese edition of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie will be published in China to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scottish writer Muriel Spark's birth.

Visiting Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the publication at Fudan University in Shanghai earlier this week.

Shanghai and Edinburgh international art festivals has signed a memorandum of cooperation to commission and produce a Chinese contemporary dance performance "The Rite of Spring."

Fusing oriental tales and modern dance, the performance will make its international debut in October during the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF), and move onto the stage at the 72nd Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) in August 2019.

Bilateral exchange has also been active in the educational sector. According to Sturgeon, more than 9,000 students from China now study in Scotland's universities, and over 30,000 people at Scottish schools study Mandarin.

"As a result, communities across Scotland mark the Chinese lunar new year, just as Burns night is celebrated regularly in Shanghai and Beijing," said Sturgeon, believing those interactions between young people really augurs well for the future friendship and relationship between the two countries.

Meanwhile, more and more Chinese tourists are choosing Scotland as their travel destination.

According to Scottish government, the total money spent by Chinese visitors in Scotland has increased by 414 percent -- from 7 million euros(8.63 million U.S. dollars) to 36 million euros since 2007. Over the same period, the number of visitors from China increased by 192 percent, with 41,000 in 2016.