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A view of the Yangzhou section of the Grand Canal. [Photo/VCG]
Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu province will host the 2020 World Canal Cities Forum on Sept 28, according to a news conference held on Sept 15.
This year's event will include a main forum, a food exhibition and a series of summits themed on the protection and inheritance of the Grand Canal.
Over 200 guests will be invited to the main forum, including mayors of canal cities, workers, scholars, experts and lovers of canals from home and abroad. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, those who cannot be present in Yangzhou can take part online.
Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum, Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, Su Ge, chair of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Bai Yating, the United Nations Development Programme representative in China, will give keynote speeches during the main forum.
The main forum will also discuss the topic of how the cultural tourism industry of canal cities can continue to achieve long-term, prosperous development.
The food exhibition will invite popular restaurants from canal cities to showcase their unique flavors in the Yangzhou Yingbinguan Hotel and the Slender West Lake scenic area. In addition, 19 cultural events featuring local customs will be held in Yangzhou's tourist attractions until the end of the upcoming National Day holiday.
Yangzhou first hosted the World Canal Cities Forum in 2007. The forum is aimed at promoting the protection, inheritance and utilization of the canal culture, as well as exchange and cooperation between canal cities.
