China's Wenzhou renews Maritime Silk Road hub charm via innovative development, global cooperation

With the year of 2024 approaching its end, the Maritime Silk Road will see another landmark chapter to its prosperous development over the past year, as the 2024 Mayors Exchange Conference on Maritime Silk Road City Influence is set to be held in the time-honored port city of Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province from November 29 to December 1.

As an important platform for promoting the Silk Road Spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, learning from each other, mutual benefits and win-win results, the conference will unveil the annual list of 2024 top 10 influential cities along the Maritime Silk Road. This list aims to showcase the achievements and charm of Chinese cities along the Maritime Silk Road over the past year.

Situated along the central section of China's eastern coastline and blessed with excellent port conditions where rivers meet the sea, Wenzhou has enjoyed a thriving commercial and logistical sector since its establishment over 2,200 years ago during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The Shuomen Ancient Port site, discovered through archaeological excavations in 2021, stands as a remarkable testament to Wenzhou's integral role in the ancient Maritime Silk Road. With its integrated system of city, port, and waterways, this site represents a unique and rare archaeological wonder in China and the world, providing solid evidence of the prosperity and continuity of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The development of the Maritime Silk Road has not only facilitated economic and trade exchanges between Wenzhou and the world but has also fostered cultural and technological exchanges.

Following in the footsteps of monks and merchants, exquisite crafts such as lacquerware and porcelain, as well as printed materials like Buddhist paintings and poetry collections, have traversed the seas and reached the global stage. These exchanges have played a significant role in promoting cultural and technological interactions.

Today, Wenzhou continues to play a vital role as a bridge for the flow of goods, culture, and technology between the East and the West, while actively engaging in the innovative exploration of urban development.

The conference will feature various events, including an academic exchange and research results presentation on the Shuomen Ancient Port site, a Maritime Silk Road intangible cultural heritage exhibition, a seminar and exhibition on innovative approaches in arts and crafts, a world city tourism IP roadshow, the "Night of Wenzhou," and the Song Dynasty-style and Wenzhou characteristic fair.

These activities aim to establish a new international platform for communication and cooperation, with the Maritime Silk Road cities as the carrier, to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, science education, healthcare, sports, and tourism. Through these endeavors, the conference aims to promote deeper and broader mutual learning and mutual benefit among Maritime Silk Road cities, extending beyond the realm of economic and trade exchanges.

As the Maritime Silk Road experiences a revival in the 21st century, the thousand-year-old commercial port of Wenzhou continues to drive urban development through innovation. In this new era, Wenzhou is committed to exploring more open development, broader exchanges, and deeper levels of cooperation.

In terms of urban development, Wenzhou has introduced high-level innovation platforms such as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Striving to enhance connectivity, Wenzhou has been advancing transportation infrastructure and is building a comprehensive national transportation hub and a regional international shipping center.

When it comes to international exchanges, Wenzhou has developed 30 friendly cities or cities with friendly exchange relationships, many of which are located along the Maritime Silk Road. Wenzhou's outstanding efforts in building international sister cities have earned it the highest honor in China's international sister city relations -- the "International Friendship City Award for Outstanding Contribution."

During this year's conference, Wenzhou will continue to invite officials from selected representative cities along the Maritime Silk Road to share their experiences in urban development through roundtable discussions, aiming to explore new opportunities for international cooperation.

In addition, the conference will release a consensus on cultural exchange and innovative cooperation among Maritime Silk Road Cities based on in-depth discussions among attending delegates. The consensus seeks to promote a wider dissemination of the Silk Road spirit and promote its increasingly significant role in the new century.

Shared Maritime Silk Road and development goals bring opportunities for cooperation for win-win outcomes. Wenzhou will take the conference as an opportunity to strengthen communication and cooperation with cities along the Maritime Silk Road in a bid to create a more brilliant future for Maritime Silk Road cities in the new millennium.

Source: The 2024 Mayors Exchange Conference on Maritime Silk Road City Influence Executive Committee

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