The BRICS TimesMayors and urban representatives from ten nations gathered in China’s scenic Huangshan City this week exchanging ideas on safeguarding cultural heritage while driving sustainable urban growth.
A Global Gathering in the Heart of Ancient China
City leaders from across the world touched down in Huangshan a storied eastern Chinese city nestled in Anhui Province this week, united by one powerful mission: finding fresh ways to protect heritage while keeping cities alive and thriving.
The 2026 World Mayors Dialogue in Huangshan ran from May 28 to 31, drawing mayors and senior city representatives from ten countries. Attendees traveled from as far west as Germany and as near as neighboring Nepal a testament to how wide the conversation around heritage preservation has grown.
Friendship as the Foundation for Preservation
Alexander Badrow mayor of Germany’s historic Hanseatic port city of Stralsund and a repeat visitor to China did not mince words about why events like this matter.
“We work together for the preservation of our buildings and our cities. It’s very important that we have this friendship,” said Badrow.
He pointed to Huangshan’s strides in technology, community welfare, and cultural protection as a compelling model. Cities, he argued, grow strongest when they lean into their own distinct identities and when they keep talking to each other.
A City That Wears Its History on Every Wall
Huangshan itself is no ordinary backdrop for this kind of summit. The city lends its name to the breathtaking Yellow Mountains a UNESCO World Heritage Site beloved worldwide for its mist-wrapped peaks and granite spires.
But the mountains are only half the story. Huangshan is equally rich in Hui-style architecture rows of buildings dating back to the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, each marked by crisp white walls, dark roof tiles, and extraordinarily detailed wood, stone, and brick carvings.
This week’s visiting officials did not just sit in meeting rooms. They hiked the mountain trails, studied the region’s architectural craftsmanship up close, explored its expanding auto industry, and dug into the city’s green development agenda.
Building Bridges, Not Just Buildings
Huangshan Mayor He Yi framed the dialogue as far more than a networking event. He described it as a genuine attempt to build an equal international platform one rooted in real collaboration rather than ceremony.
“We would like to take this event as an opportunity to build a bridge of mutual learning and exchange, and explore new paths for resilient heritage site development together,” He said.
He Yi added that the summit’s deeper goal is to jointly protect what he called “the common memories and ecological assets of mankind” a shared responsibility to contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Mayur Mohta
Pratik Agrawal
Aditya Didwaniya