At the peak of Huangshan and within Hongcun Village, guests from all directions were welcomed. Recently, the "2026 World Mayors Dialogue · Huangshan" event was held in Huangshan City, Anhui Province. During this time, city representatives from 10 countries, including Germany, Serbia, Italy, Thailand, and Malaysia, gathered in Huangshan City to engage in in-depth exchanges on the mutual empowerment of world heritage and urban development.

Over a few short days, the mayors experienced the culture of Huangshan City, felt the pulse of its new technological developments, and discussed cooperation.

Preserving Tradition: Experience Trumps Viewing Exhibits

In Huangshan City, a particular intangible cultural heritage item frequently appeared around reporters. It comes in various sizes and lengths but can always be "lit up"—these fish lanterns have traversed hundreds of years, passed down from ancient times to the present in Huangshan City. Today, experiencing fish lantern making in Huangshan has become an important way for many to understand Huizhou culture. Mayors from many countries also joined in making fish lanterns.

A few days ago, at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, Huangshan City, Alexander Badrow, Mayor of Stralsund, Germany, immersed himself in the experience of making a fish lantern. After completing it, Badrow wrote the letters "HS" on the lantern. When people were puzzled, Badrow explained that he had written "HuangShan."

In recent years, Huizhou fish lanterns have traveled from Huangshan to Rome and Cannes, showcasing the enduring charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage on the world stage. The fish lanterns may be small, but they are enough to stir ripples in people's hearts.

Filippo Gasperi, Mayor of Gradara, Italy, said while making a fish lantern, "My city is by the sea, so we regard fish as symbols of wealth and good luck. Rather than looking at exhibits through glass in a museum, it's better to experience it hands-on. This way, we can understand the meaning of what we are doing more deeply."

It's not just the fish lanterns; the entire Hongcun Village is a living historical calling card. As a World Cultural Heritage site, Hongcun, with its long history, features striking white walls and black tiles. The ingenious water system design within the village, preserved to this day, has infused the village with soul.

"The main body of Hongcun's water system is a canal over 1,000 meters long, which channels water into the village, flows into Moon Pond, then into South Lake, and finally out to irrigate farmland, forming a cycle. This design balances irrigation functions with flood control needs," introduced He Yi, Mayor of Huangshan City.

Zheng Lipin, Director of the Kuching Water Board in Malaysia, said, "This is my first time in Huangshan City. I have been looking forward to learning about the experiences here regarding water resource protection, utilization, and water system management. My visit to Hongcun has been very rewarding. The wisdom of ancient Chinese people in water management from hundreds of years ago can still provide lessons for modern society."

After several days of the itinerary, foreign mayors and representatives praised that heritage is well protected in Huangshan City. Reiss, Head of Planning and Construction for Stralsund, Germany, said, "Taking a morning stroll through the old streets, you'll find there are strict building protection regulations here. It is no easy task for an ancient city to maintain contemporary vitality while safeguarding its historical features. I think Huangshan has done very well in this regard."

How has Huangshan achieved such results today? He Yi used the core component of Huizhou architecture, the "dougong" bracket, to offer a solution: guard the fundamentals, protect authenticity; actively undertake and integrate into modern life; co-build and share, making protectors the beneficiaries.

"Managers of heritage cities must find a precise point of integration between protection and development, like the interlocking of dougong and tenon joints, rather than making simple trade-offs," He Yi said.

Embracing Technology: Climbing Huangshan with an Exoskeleton

Technology is a word with high popularity in China today. In Huangshan City, it is no different. One of the most discussed topics among Chinese and foreign mayors and representatives is technology, and one of the most experienced elements is also technology.

The majestic Huangshan Mountain stands imposingly in southern Anhui Province. As a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site, Huangshan has weathered many storms. Now, this ancient famous mountain is becoming "younger" due to the support of technology.

When the foreign mayors and representatives visited the Huangshan Scenic Area this time, they were first amazed by a kind of magical "skeleton." This "mountain climbing artifact" is called a mountain climbing exoskeleton suit. It is equipped with a human multi-modal perception system, providing thrust when going uphill and cushioning to protect the knees when going downhill.

The foreign mayors and representatives wore the mountain climbing exoskeleton suits to ascend Huangshan, repeatedly giving thumbs up.

"Our country has many mountains; we are no strangers to mountain climbing. But wearing the equipment, I felt a force pushing me forward. It's amazing!" exclaimed Dhanaraj Acharya, Mayor of Pokhara, Nepal.

After experiencing it, Andrea Crescentini, Mayor of Serravalle, San Marino, said, "I felt like 'Iron Man.' China's technological development is admirable. Such equipment can provide convenience for people and has great application prospects."

Currently, this mountain climbing exoskeleton can not only assist tourists but also be used in multiple scenarios within the scenic area, such as material transport and sanitation operations.

The exoskeleton is just one "corner" of Huangshan embracing new technology. The Huangshan before our eyes is ecologically well-protected. As far as the eye could see, the reporter did not see a single piece of litter, which is inseparable from the local meticulous care.

Today, patrolling and protecting Huangshan is no longer done solely by human effort; more and more technological tools are joining in.

At a popular viewing platform on the mountain, the foreign mayors and representatives witnessed this scene—a drone flew through the pine forest in the air, overlooking every inch of Huangshan's land, monitoring in real-time for any abnormal situations.

The foreign mayors and representatives observed such drone patrol operation demonstrations up close, feeling the changes technology brings to ecological protection.

As a dual World Cultural and Natural Heritage site, in 2023, Huangshan built China's first mountain-type zero-carbon scenic area, achieving overall carbon neutrality. The scenic area integrates cutting-edge technology with traditional fire prevention measures to construct an integrated "air-ground-space-human" intelligent forest fire prevention network.

Now, application scenarios like "cyber mountaineering," "AI companion tours," and "low-altitude soaring" are also continuously expanding in Huangshan. Technology allows domestic and international tourists to appreciate more of Huangshan's beauty.

This ascent of Huangshan also made Dhanaraj Acharya think of his own city—Pokhara is also a mountain city facing multiple pressures from climate change, tourist growth, and ecological protection. "Huangshan's approach has given us great inspiration."

Alexander Badrow was visiting Huangshan for the fourth time. He remarked, "While protecting nature, Huangshan uses technology to allow more people to get close to it. This balance is admirable."

In recent years, new energy vehicles have played an increasingly important role in promoting green transformation. On the way to the Huangshan Scenic Area, the foreign mayors and representatives all traveled in Chinese new energy vehicles.

Facing the technologically advanced Chinese new energy vehicles, Timea Sotakova, Deputy Mayor of Michalovce, Slovakia, used one word to describe the riding experience: "Future."

"Huangshan City has preserved millennia-old folk customs and traditional crafts while also delving deeply into high-tech. It combines tradition and vitality, culture and technological innovation. This two-way empowerment model provides a great reference for global heritage cities," praised Jelena Medakovic, Director of Culture for Belgrade, Serbia, admiring Huangshan's development model.

Looking to the Future: From the Huangshan Initiative to More Cooperation

Discussing protection and technology, Chinese and foreign guests gathered in Huangshan City with a shared goal—to deepen cooperation between cities and jointly solve the challenges of heritage protection and urban development.

In the view of Dhanaraj Acharya: "Our cities may face different environmental challenges, but our common goal is the same: to build safe, green, sustainable, and resilient cities for future generations. Through cooperation, knowledge sharing, wise ecological planning, and green ecological concepts, we can make our cities more future-ready to address environmental challenges."

By the shores of Taiping Lake in Huangshan City, Chinese and foreign mayors and representatives discussed new practices for ecological prosperity benefiting the people. The most frequent concern was cooperation. Everyone hoped to seek experience from each other's development and find opportunities for collaboration.

The "Huangshan Initiative" released during this mayoral dialogue event embodies the collective wisdom of all parties. During the event, multiple cities also signed several memorandums of understanding on friendly exchanges and cooperation.

Alexander Badrow looks forward to cities engaging in more cooperation in areas such as culture and historical heritage protection.

"Huangshan City has achieved remarkable results in technological development, improving people's livelihoods, and protecting traditional culture. I hope both sides can leverage their respective strengths to conduct more friendly interactions in the field of urban development in the future," he said. "I hope we can strengthen cooperation starting from three points: first, respect our culture and history, respect our world heritage; second, protect our nature; third, find solutions to use new technology to solve the dilemmas of development and protection, making people's lives better."

Although the grand event has concluded, the time for cooperation is now. It is believed that this gathering in Huangshan will bring more inspiration to the development of many cities. It is also hoped that more cities will join in the cooperation to build cities into even better places together.