ABOUTProject Overview

＜2021 Host City＞

City of Kitakyushu, JAPAN

 The City of Kitakyushu is hailed both in Japan and abroad as a city that advances SDGs and advocates initiatives that shift the focus of political measures to the creation of pleasant urban environments. It is also moving forward with new community development that includes a concentration of cultural facilities, such as museums, and the establishment of commercial facilities. Through the Culture City of East Asia program, the city is striving to achieve the Creative City: Kitakyushu that drives innovative community development through the power of culture and art.

City of Shaoxing, CHINA

 Shaoxing is known as a city with beautiful mountains and clear sea waters, a city of history and culture, and a city that attracts famous figures. It is also known as a city that produces rice wine, a city of water, a city of bridges, a city of calligraphy, and a city of Chinese opera. Furthermore, it has a long history of over 2,500 years and a rich culture, and has been given prestigious names such as the famous historic-cultural city of China and the city of tourism. Called a “museum without walls,” it was the hometown of Lu Xun and preserves historical sites such as the ancestral home of Zhou Enlai. Shaoxing is a classic Jiangnan city of water boasting beautiful scenery.

City of Dunhuang, CHINA

 The two Chinese characters “敦煌” mean exceedingly prosperous, and as the name says, Dunhuang prospered as a central city on the Silk Road. It began as one of four garrisons established by Emperor Wu of Han in the western region of China and has a history of over 2,100 years. Through Dunhuang, Chinese civilization spread to Europe and Asia, and diverse cultures have beautifully coexisted. When President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China visited Gansu Province in August 2019, he first stopped at Dunhuang and stated that in addition to strengthening cultural exchange with various countries to deepen ties among people, cultural studies of Dunhuang should be advanced to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. As a Culture City of East Asia, Dunhuang will integrate outstanding urban culture and cultural heritage, and bolster cultural and tourism exchange with Japan and Korea to build new close relationships among people in the Belt and Road Initiative.

City of Suncheon, KOREA

 Suncheon is a city of ecosystem conservation in the Republic of Korea. It is the foundation for life in which humans and nature coexist, as well as a garden. It is also a city of cranes visited by more than 1,000 hooded cranes, a city that maintains the No. 1 National Garden in Korea, a city accredited as a Wetland City by the Ramsar Convention, and a UNESCO World Heritage city. Suncheon will utilize the Culture City of East Asia program to do its utmost to establish culture in its ecologically rich community and achieve a sustainable city of ecosystem conservation that boosts the quality of living by adding the resonance of art.