From November 13th to 15th, China UNESCO Category 2 Center Alliance (hereinafter referred to as "the Alliance") 2019 Annual Meeting was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. The Alliance was initiated by all Chinese C2Cs in 2015. This meeting was jointly organized by WHITRAP and Shanxi Guoxin Culture and Tourism Co. Ltd. About 30 representatives from 14 China C2Cs attended the meeting.

The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Secretary-general of the Alliance Dr. Li Xin (Deputy Secretary-general of WHITRAP) and Mr. Liu Chang (IKCEST). The meeting addressed the issue of how to further improve the operation mechanism of the alliance and explore a new mode of collaborative development of Category 2 Center.

On the afternoon of 13th, accompanied by the leaders of Xishan Management Committee and Shanxi Guoxin Culture and Tourism Co. Ltd, the participants inspected the ecological governance of Xishan Eco-Cultural Tourism Demonstration Zone and learned about its work progress.

On-site tour in Xishan Ecological and Cultural Tourism Demonstration Zone

On the morning of 14th, the representatives introduced their outcomes and problems, gave suggestions on the following operation of the Alliance. Mr. Wang Tianxiang, the representative of WHITRAP Secretariat, gave a report on related topics. In the subsequent communication, representatives were highly inspired during the discussion about how to innovate in cooperation and how to match the local needs.

On the afternoon of 14th，the leaders of the Alliance and local governments attended the “Taiyuan Yunding Forum” to discuss issues related to the development progress of Xishan. Wang xinyuan, Deputy Director of HIST, Li Xin, Deputy Secretary General of WHITRAP, and Yang Ke, Senior Engineer of ICGG, made speeches on the development of space, geology and cultural tourism. In the end, both sides indicated that they will synergize and strengthen the cooperation in order to give further contributions on the development of Xishan.

Mr Yang Ke, Yang Ke, Senior Engineer of ICGG, analyzed how to enhance the local advantages and use effective resources in a micro-level

Dr. Li Xin, Deputy Secretary General of WHITRAP, gave the speech about how the ecological forest park positions and developes

Mr. Wang Xinyuan, Deputy Director of HIST, introduced the UNSDGs objects and the collaborative development of locality and innovation

On Nov. 15th, accompanied by the leaders of Shanxi Guoxin Culture and Tourism Co. Ltd., the representatives visited the cultural heritages - Jinci and Mengshan Buddha in Xishan to analyse the organic coexistence of local cultural heritage and environment, and discuss on how to meet UNSDGs.

The 2019 Annual Meeting strengthened the communication between C2Cs and promoted the development and cooperation between the Alliance and local governments. The meeting gained a great support from the government of Taiyuan Jiancaoping District, Xishan Administrative Committee and Shanxi Guoxin Culture and Tourism Co. Ltd. It is believed that the success of the 2019 Annual Meeting performs as a great instance for the next phase of the Alliance.

Representatives group photo in Xishan Guoxin Forest Park