Recently, after separate elections by China, Japan and South Korea. Shaoxing City and Dunhuang City of China, Kitakyushu in Japan and Suncheon in South Korea are listed as “Cultural Cities of East Asia”.
“Cultural City of East Asia” is an important brand in cultural field created under the structure of leaders mechanism of China, Japan and South Korea. From it’s start in 2013, 1 to 2 cities are elected to gain the title as “Cultural Cities of East Asia” for every country in every year. These cities can conduct diverse cultural and tourism activities in the name of “Cultural City of East Asia”. The priority is cultural communication and cooperation, the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, the construction of public cultural service system, the protection and exploitation of intangible cultural relics, the communication and sharing of urban planning experience and tourism promotion. The aim is to encourage cities and citizens to take part in cultural and tourism cooperation in East Asia, to improve cities’ construction, to generate vitality of cities so as to improve their influence and reputation as well as to benefit people with culture and develop cities with culture.
According to processes in the past, cultural ministers in the three countries award the elected cities jointly. Because of the Covid-19, the 12th Ministers Conference of China, Japan and South Korea which originally should be held this year has been postponed. Cities elected as 2021 “Cultural Cities of East Asia” is announced through media by three countries.
The four cities awarded the title 2021 “Cultural Cities of East Asia” are active in art communication and rich in culture. Three countries reached a consensus that those four cities can cooperate closely to realize the development and prosperity of East Asia through close people to people communication. They can support jointly the preparation and holding of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.