Fuzhou hosts World Cities Day 2026, Shanghai Award Ceremony
Nov 1, 2026
Fuzhou, China, November 1, 2026 -- The 2026 World Cities Day Global Observance and the 4th Cycle of Shanghai Award Ceremony opened in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Oct 31, bringing together more than 1,000 participants from over 60 countries and more than 10 international organizations.
Representatives of the winning cities receive their awards at the Awarding Ceremony of the 4th Cycle of Shanghai Award. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Running through Nov 2, the event is jointly organized by China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, UN-Habitat, and the Fujian Provincial People's Government, and hosted by the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government and the Fujian Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Five cities — Jingdezhen in China, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Santiago de Cali in Colombia, Istanbul in Turkiye, and Katowice in Poland — received the Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities (Shanghai Award). They were selected by an international jury from 15 finalists representing 92 applicant cities.
The global campaign "My City, My Home" was another highlight, drawing submissions from more than 320 cities in over 100 countries. Participants were invited to use their hands to frame and photograph places they are proud to call home. Related online content reached 110 million views.
The opening ceremony also featured the release of the 2026 Shanghai Manual and a report on the application of the Global Urban Monitoring Framework — Shanghai Adapted Index (SAI for short), which is used to assess urban sustainable development worldwide. China and UN-Habitat also signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the establishment of an international alliance for the award.
More than 300 international guests attended, including Anaclaudia Rossbach, UN under-secretary-general and executive director of the UN-Habitat; Nga Kor Ming, Malaysia's minister of Housing and Local Government and deputy chairman of the Democratic Action Party; and Stephen Jackson, United Nations resident coordinator in China, as well as senior officials and ministers from various countries.
World Cities Day, established at China's initiative and designated by the UN General Assembly, is the first UN international day dedicated to cities and an important platform for
advancing the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda. The Shanghai Award was jointly established by China and UN-Habitat in 2022. Fuzhou, a recipient in the award's inaugural cycle, is hosting this year's Global Observance, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the New Urban Agenda and the fifth anniversary of the Global Development Initiative.
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