HEFEI -- Mayors and city representatives from around the world are gathered in the eastern Chinese city of Huangshan this week to explore new paths for heritage protection and urban development.

The 2026 World Mayors Dialogue in Huangshan of Anhui province, being held from May 28 to 31, has brought together mayors and representatives from 10 countries, including Germany and Nepal. Participants are exchanging views on topics such as world heritage protection, cultural inheritance and green development.

"We work together for the preservation of our buildings and our cities. It's very important that we have this friendship," said Alexander Badrow, mayor of the city of Hanseatic of Stralsund, who has visited China multiple times.

He noted that Huangshan has delivered impressive outcomes in tech development, livelihood upgrades and traditional culture protection, adding that cities can tap into their unique strengths to launch more friendly exchanges to support urban development in the future.

Huangshan draws its fame from Mount Huangshan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its magnificent natural beauty. It is also home to many well-preserved Hui-style buildings dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties that feature black roof tiles and white walls with exquisite wood, stone and brick carvings.

Event participants have visited the mountain and these buildings this week, and have also learnt about local intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship, auto industry advances, and green development concepts.

Huangshan Mayor He Yi said the gathering is also designed to build an international platform for equal dialogue and practical collaboration, where participants can jointly protect the common memories and ecological assets of all humanity and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We would like to take this event as an opportunity to build a bridge of mutual learning and exchange, and explore new paths for resilient heritage site development together," He said.