More than 300 scholars, industry experts and government officials from the culture, art and literary fields around the world gathered in Shanghai on Thursday for the 2019 Global Cities Culture Forum (Shanghai).

Themed “Mutual Appreciation and Grand Harmony”, the participants shared their research results and viewpoints on topics including community culture and world cities, cultural institutions and city networks, and smart city and city culture. The forum was jointly held by the governments of Shanghai’s Hongkou district and Leshan city of Sichuan province, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

According to the organizers, the forum was aimed at analyzing the role of diverse cultures and how they communicate with one another to develop modern, creative cities.

Xu Jiong, deputy director of the publicity department of Shanghai, said during the opening ceremony that Shanghai has long been a city characterized by its blend of cultures from the East and the West.

“Throughout the city’s journey of transforming itself into an excellent global city, Shanghai will continue to play up its cultures and humanity to let all the people working, living and studying in the city feel its warmth and inclusiveness,” Xu said.

Experts and government officials from Chinese cities as well as those from Nigeria, Israel, the United Kingdom, Belarus, the United States, Singapore, Egypt, Canada and Myanmar participated in the forum.

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