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Star of October -Zhangjiajie
14 Oct 2019

 

Introduction of the Silk Road Urban Alliance

 

 

The Silk Road Urban Alliance (SRUA), jointly initiated by the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) and China Association for Friendship, is a thematic working mechanism among cities of the Belt and Road countries and regions.

 

On 16 October 2018, the 2018 Silk Road Business Summit was successfully held in Zhangjiajie, China's Hunan Province. SRUA was formally established at the Zhangjiajie International Tourism Forum, an affiliated session of the Summit. The city of Zhangjiajie was elected as SRUA first rotating presidency city and Mayor Liu Ge’an as rotating president.

 

Silk Road Urban Alliance aims to strengthen cultural exchanges and trade cooperation among its members under the Belt and Road Initiative. By providing a pragmatic platform, the Urban Alliance enables its members to share their experience in city governance, so as to better seize the opportunities and address the challenges in city development.

 

Currently, SRUA has 58 member cities from 22 countries.

 

SRUA Founding Assembly and the First Zhangjiajie International Tourism Forum

 

 

SRUA first Rotating President Liu Ge'an taking a group photo with member city representatives

 

 

SRUA first Rotating Presidency City Zhangjiajie

 

Top left: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Top right: Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain and Tianmen Cave

Bottom left: Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

Bottom right: art performance- Tianmen Fox Fairy  

 

Located in the northwest of China's Hunan Province, the heart of Wuling Mountains, Zhangjiajie Municipality was established in 1988 because of the abundant local tourism resources. Composed of two districts and two counties, Zhangjiajie covers an area of 9,533 square kilometers and has a population of 1.72 million, 75.28% of which are minorities. In 2018, Zhangjiajie's GDP reached 57.892 billion yuan, with an increase of 7.5% over the previous year. The per capita GDP of Zhangjiajie's resident population was 37,719 yuan, an increase of 7.2% compared to 2017. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents reached 24,802 yuan and 9,596 yuan respectively.

 

With its unique tourism resources, Zhangjiajie Municipality has been dedicated to developing tourism since its founding. As tourism infrastructure becomes increasingly improved and the tourism industry keeps growing, Zhangjiajie has become one of the best tourist destinations in China and even among China's most influential tourist cities for overseas market. In 2018, Zhangjiajie received 85.217 million tourists with the tourism revenue totaling 75.68 billion yuan, realizing an increase of 16.17% and 21.33 % respectively.

 

Zhangjiajie is a regional transportation hub in Wuling Mountain area, with convenient transportation network of airline, railway and expressway. It is the only national first-class airport in Wuling Mountain area with more than 70 domestic and international destinations in reach, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Tianjin, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Busan, Qingzhou, Daegu, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta. The railway connects Zhangjiajie with over 50 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. With the implementation of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, the high-speed railways like Qianjiang-Zhangjiajie-Changde Railway, Ankang-Zhangjiajie-Hengyang Railway and Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua Railway are now under construction, which will bring Zhangjiajie tourism into the era of high-speed rail.  

 

Zhangjiajie has successfully held a series of international events, such as the 2018 Silk Road Business Summit, the 12th NEAR Generally Assembly, the First Asparagus Big Health Asia Forum. Meanwhile, there have been many competitive events held in Zhangjiajie, including the World Wingsuit Flying Tournament, Huanglong Music Season, International Tourism Poetry Festival and so on. Zhangjiajie has also set up Silk Road Stations in multiple countries to expand its international influence.

 

2019 SRUA Annual Conference (Zhangjiajie)

 

 

To build SRUA a pragmatic platform for people-to-people exchanges, economic cooperation, cultural mutual learning and common development among its members, the 2019 SRUA Annual Conference will be held on 8-10 December 2019 in Zhangjiajie by the China Association for Friendship, the People's Government of Zhangjiajie, and the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce.

 

The conference will include opening ceremony, plenary meeting, parallel forums, closing ceremony and so forth. The meeting will welcome over 200 delegates for participation, including SRUA members, representatives of friendly cities, international tourism organizations, enterprises, as well as scholars and experts.