Chongqing to Host 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum with Expanded Global Reach

By FENG, XIAOLOU|Sep 07,2026

Chongqing - The 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum will convene on September 15 at the Yuelai International Convention Center, organizers announced at a news conference on September 7. Now in its third consecutive year, the event has graduated from a domestic cultural seminar into the Yangtze River basin's only permanent provincial-level forum for international dialogue among great river civilizations.

The 2022 Concert of World Great Rivers was a great success, inspiring the concert organization in the following years. (Photo: Hou Benyan)

Co-hosted by the Chongqing Municipal Committee and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this year's edition carries the permanent theme Crossing Rivers and Seas, Mutual Learning of Civilizations. The intellectual focus narrows on how Yangtze River civilization can engage with the Nile, Amazon, and other great river cultures. Keynote speakers include Cambridge historian Martin Jacques, Egyptian archaeologist Alaa Mansoury of Luxor Museum, and Chinese historians Bu Xianqun and Meng Man. The opening ceremony will also unveil the Great River Upper Reaches book series and an international communication initiative titled Appointment with the Yangtze: Civilization Dialogue.

The news conference announced that the 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum will convene on Sep 15 (Photo: Information Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government)

Li Peng, Executive Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, outlined three defining features of the 2026 program. The theme is more focused, establishing a permanent conceptual anchor for future editions. Participation is broader, with nearly 20 countries sending delegates, including Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo and Egyptian tourism officials, marking the largest international turnout in the forum's history. The agenda is more layered, structured as one keynote plus eleven parallel events spanning seminars, field visits, art performances, and intangible heritage displays.

Reflecting on the forum's trajectory, Li highlighted four areas of progress. Academic research into Yangtze culture has deepened, producing nearly 200 papers and three collected volumes that have informed policies on cultural tourism and rural revitalization. Basin-wide coordination has improved through mechanisms linking Chongqing with Sichuan, Hubei, and Zhejiang on ecological protection and tourism cooperation. Chongqing's global profile has risen through coverage by over 910 media outlets across more than 50 countries. And international exchange has matured from one-off events into sustained partnerships, including the Yangtze Meets the Nile series and heritage collaboration with Egypt.

Baiheliang(White Crane Ridge) Underwater Museum is a spot to visit for this year's forum (Photo: WCICO)

Among the parallel events, the 2026 Concert of World Great Rivers will take place on September 16 in Wanzhou. Co-produced by China Media Group for global broadcast on CCTV-4 to over 100 countries, the concert will feature musicians from the United States, France, Germany, Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia performing in an open, immersive riverside living room format. The 10th Baidicheng International Poetry Festival will run from September 14 to 18 across Chongqing and Fengjie, inviting poets to recite works in their native languages against the backdrop of the Three Gorges, while scholars gather on the mountain summit for exchanges on classical verse.

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Chongqing to Host 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum with Expanded Global Reach

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