Xi’anApril 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From April 27 to 29, the 2026 “World Mayors Dialogue • Xi’an” event was held. Mayors from cities across multiple countries gathered at the starting point of the ancient Silk Road to jointly explore practical pathways for high-quality urban development. With the theme “Silk Road Starting Point • Harmony and Coexistence: Technology and Culture Empowering High-Quality Urban Development,” the event adopted a combination of roundtable dialogues, scenario-based conversations, immersive cultural experiences, and in-depth research visits. The dialogue venues were extended to the forefront of smart city operations, intelligent manufacturing production lines, and World Cultural Heritage sites, allowing guests to experience firsthand how digital technology reshapes urban governance and drives industrial transformation and upgrading.
Xi’an Yongning Gate
At the Chang’an Cloud • Xi’an Science and Technology Museum and the Xi’an Urban Planning Museum, they experienced Xi’an’s robust strengths in technological innovation, hardcore manufacturing, aerospace, and other fields, as well as the city’s blend of ancient and modern landscapes. Meanwhile, they also visited the Tang Dynasty Everbright City, where they recited poetry with “Li Bai” dressed in Hanfu, experiencing a reunion with the prosperous Tang Dynasty amidst the interplay of light and shadow.
In Xi’an, history has never faded away; it lives in the present. The Xi’an City Wall they saw is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient city walls in the world, now safeguarded by a modern monitoring system. Over 3,000 sensors and artificial intelligence algorithms track the condition of every brick in real time, supporting the protection of this 1,400-year-old ancient city wall.
Beyond its cultural heritage, Xi’an is also continuously expanding its industrial base. At the Geely Automobile “Dark Factory” in the Xi’an Economic and Technological Development Zone, 934 robots assemble cars at intervals of nearly one minute, operating efficiently without the need for on-site lighting. In Xi’an’s high-tech industries, covering fields such as photonics and medical equipment, locally developed technologies are increasingly entering the international market.
As an inland city, Xi’an fully leverages the advantages of the China-Europe Railway Express to position itself as a logistics hub connecting Asia and Europe. In 2025, the Xi’an railway hub handled over 6,000 freight trains, with grain imports from Central Asia and high-tech product exports both transported along the same corridor.
They also examined the application of digital systems in infrastructure, public services, and cultural production, integrating modern technology into the historic urban environment. As the lights of “Chang’an Night” illuminated, Chinese and international guests jointly released the “World Mayors Dialogue — Xi’an Consensus on Silk Road City Development.” For participants, Xi’an demonstrated how the historical starting point of the Silk Road has evolved into a vibrant hub for global trade, continuously expanding its connections with regional supply chains—an example of how historic urban centers can adapt to global change.