Jinan hosts intl conference on spring cultural landscape
The 2019 International Spring Cultural Landscape City Alliance Conference opens in Jinan, East China’s Shandong province on Sept 10. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
The 2019 International Spring Cultural Landscape City Alliance Conference was held in Jinan on Sept 10. Jinan is a city in eastern China’s Shandong province noted for its many natural springs, leading to the nickname “City of Springs”.
The conference focused on cultural heritage protection and sustainable development in the city and sought to connect it with other spring cities around the world.
“The unique culture and landscape of Jinan, which is integrated with the city’s springs, represents a unique type of water resources utilization in China and the world. It is an important reference for respecting nature, rational use of nature and sustainable development,” said Sun Shutao, mayor of Jinan.
Sun Shutao, mayor of Jinan, delivers a speech at the conference, Sept 10. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
More than 150 overseas representatives from member cities of the International City Alliance of Springs Cultural Landscape, as well as experts, researchers, entrepreneurs, foreign journalists, and Jinan government officials, attended the conference, sharing their experiences in developing and protecting spring cultural landscapes.
Mehmet Oktay, mayor of Marmaris in Turkey, said that the city signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation with Jinan to improve bilateral relations, and he expects further cooperation with Jinan in terms of cultural heritage, the environment, business, culture, arts and education to be agreed on during the conference.
Rick Jennings of the Sacramento City Council in the United States commended the rapid development he saw during his recent visit to Jinan and hoped to learn from the city’s successfull experience. The city councillor particularly enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere of Baotu Spring Park and the obvious pride locals took in their city, which is something Sacramento residents can strongly relate to.
Long Yongtu, former vice-minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation of China, addresses the conference, Sept 10. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
Jinan city has now begun to use springs culture as a leading field to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other cities in the world. And the field of cooperation can be further expanded without just limited to the field of spring culture. The city can strengthen cooperation with cities with other special cultural landscapes so as to promote collaboration in economy and even technology sectors, according to Long Yongtu, former vice-minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation of China.
Officials attend the launching ceremony for the Jinan global communication platform at the ongoing 2019 International Spring Cultural Landscape City Alliance held on Sept 11. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The conference saw the launch of Jinan global communication platform which consists of Jinan’s official English website, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and bilingual WeChat account. Four parallel meetings focusing on Jinan city’s international production capacity collaboration, cultural landscape protection, spring protection and sustainable utilization and international spring city tourism promotion were held after the conference.
Jinan, a City of Springs, is home to numerous natural springs and weeping willows, which gives the city a distinct feel. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
