Through constant efforts to promote Yellow River culture, Qingdao reaps results in wider exchanges and cooperation throughout the Yellow River basin. [Photo/WeChat account: qd12301]

Through constant efforts to promote Yellow River culture, Qingdao has reaped results in wider exchanges and cooperation throughout the Yellow River basin.

Drawing on a millennium of history, Qingdao is dedicated to promoting the preservation and inheritance of historical and cultural heritage in the Yellow River basin, and strengthening artistic and cultural exchanges and cooperation in the region, said Zhao Yan, vice-mayor of Qingdao.

This year, Qingdao held an exhibition featuring the Dunhuang Grottoes, which was the first time that the artworks based in Gansu province were introduced to Shandong.

To help preserve the Great Wall of Qi, the oldest existing Great Wall located in Shandong province, Qingdao has advanced the construction of a national cultural park, the Xushan Mountain Cultural Park and a cultural museum. Also, the city has accelerated its application for world heritage status of the old city area, with the aim to be listed in the World Heritage preliminary list as a Chinese treasure.

So far, the city has held 268 festivals to promote protection of the Yellow River and cooperation among intangible heritage cultures. Moreover, for three years, Qingdao has teamed up with more than 10 cities that boast rich Yellow River cultures — including Xi'an, Shaanxi province; Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region; and Lanzhou, Gansu province — to launch Yellow River-themed events and tourism routes, according to Zhao.

In recent years, Qingdao has strengthened interconnectivity in sports with cities along the Yellow River, by jointly running brand sports events and establishing sports development alliances. These build platforms for communication and cooperation to promote sports exchanges and common development in the cities.

In October, the city held the Qingdao Fashion Sports Industry Conference, promoting its sports industry resources and seeing other cities along the Yellow River basin hold sports-themed promotions. Moreover, the Qingdao sports bureau has initiated competitive sports collaborations with its counterpart in Longnan, Gansu province. This move has helped a group of sports businesses carry out diversified cooperation with cities along the Yellow River.

By making full use of its industrial advantages, Qingdao has gone the extra mile to conduct technological cooperation with other cities and provinces along the Yellow River basin in a bid to promote ecological protection and high-quality development.

For instance, Qingdao-based Haier Group has invested in a manufacturing base for smart water heaters in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Meanwhile, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute has invested in and constructed a zero-carbon industrial park for new energy equipment manufacturing and a new energy power station in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Qinghai province, to create a highland for the clean energy industry.

Cooperation in fields including modern agriculture, key technological research and development and industrial internet platforms has also been made by Qingdao.