China’s Zhengzhou Leads the Charge in Merging Cultural Preservation with Urban Development: A Glimpse into the Global Mayors Dialogue 2025

China’s Henan Province capital, Zhengzhou, is emerging as a model for combining cultural preservation and urban renewal. More than 300 city officials, mayors, and academics from around the globe attended the city’s 2025 International Mayor’s Forum on Tourism and Global Mayors Dialogue, which took place from October 22 to 25, 2025. The topic of discussion at these forums was “Preserving the Cultural Legacy of Ancient Capitals and Driving Urban Renewal”. The occasion highlighted Zhengzhou’s special initiatives to make sure that its rich cultural legacy is not sacrificed in the name of urban growth.

A Vision for Sustainable Urban Growth

The city of Zhengzhou has adopted an innovative approach to urban planning, placing archaeological discovery before construction. This method, known as the “archaeology first, construction later” reform, ensures that the city’s cultural and historical sites are protected amidst its rapid urban development. This reform aims to balance the need for modern infrastructure with the preservation of historical legacies.

The integration of cultural heritage with contemporary urban life is particularly evident in projects like the Shang City Archaeological Site Park and the Fuminli Cultural Block. These projects are designed to harmoniously merge ancient relics with modern spaces, fostering an environment where the past and the present coexist. The Shang City Archaeological Site Park, for example, is a vast open-air museum where visitors can walk through history while enjoying the amenities of modern-day Zhengzhou. This careful integration has made Zhengzhou a shining example of sustainable urban development.

Global Recognition for Zhengzhou’s Cultural and Urban Renewal Approach

Zhengzhou’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. The city has received international recognition for its work in merging urban expansion with cultural preservation. At the forum, leaders from Italy, Spain, and New Zealand commended the city for its forward-thinking strategies. Maurizio Rasero, the Mayor of Asti, Italy, praised the city’s ability to preserve its cultural charm while embracing the advancements of modern infrastructure. Juan de Dios Perez Garcia, the Mayor of Spain’s Zaragoza, also recognised Zhengzhou for its innovative projects that harmoniously blend the ancient and the contemporary.

Furthermore, New Zealand’s Rotorua Mayor highlighted the role of modern technology in revitalising traditional culture. He pointed out that technology has played a crucial role in revamping ancient cultural sites and integrating them into today’s economy. By using modern tools to enhance the visitor experience, cities like Zhengzhou can stimulate economic growth, promote tourism, and create new job opportunities.

Zhengzhou’s Urban Projects: A Model for the Future

The Shang City Archaeological Site Park and Fuminli Cultural Block are just the beginning of Zhengzhou’s ambitious vision for the future. These developments are not just about preserving the past but also about ensuring that the city remains competitive on the global stage. The integration of heritage sites into urban spaces is seen as a crucial step in promoting cultural tourism. The Fuminli Cultural Block, for instance, is a lively cultural district where ancient architecture meets modern retail spaces, providing a platform for both local artisans and global businesses to thrive.

Zhengzhou’s urban renewal initiatives are also deeply intertwined with the region’s tourism sector. By preserving cultural landmarks and making them accessible to tourists, the city has created a new wave of cultural tourism. Tourists visiting Zhengzhou can now experience an immersive journey that includes archaeological sites, museums, and cultural exhibitions. This not only provides an educational experience but also boosts local businesses by attracting both domestic and international visitors.

A Global Dialogue on Cultural Preservation and Urbanization

The Global Mayors Dialogue-Zhengzhou and 2025 International Mayor’s Forum on Tourism served as platforms for a global discussion on the challenges and opportunities in balancing cultural preservation with urban growth. This event provided a space for mayors, officials, and scholars to share their experiences and learn from one another. Several key themes emerged during the discussions, including the role of governance in cultural heritage protection, the importance of involving local communities in preservation efforts, and the need for sustainable tourism practices.

Zhengzhou’s example has shown that it is possible to preserve the past while embracing the future. By placing cultural heritage at the forefront of urban planning, the city has not only protected its historical treasures but also created new opportunities for tourism, education, and economic development.

Zhengzhou’s Approach: A Roadmap for Future Generations

The city of Zhengzhou’s approach to merging cultural preservation with urban development is a roadmap for cities around the world. As urbanisation continues at an unprecedented pace, cities must find ways to preserve their cultural legacies while adapting to the demands of the modern world. Zhengzhou’s success is a testament to the fact that cultural preservation is not a hindrance to growth but rather an essential component of sustainable urban development.

A New Era of Cultural and Urban Synergy

The difficulties of maintaining cultural heritage while promoting economic growth will only get worse as the world becomes more urbanised. Other cities struggling with the challenges of urban renewal can learn a lot from Zhengzhou’s audacious strategy. Zhengzhou has established a benchmark for other cities to follow by giving archaeology and cultural preservation top priority in its urban planning. The 2025 International Mayor’s Forum on Tourism and the Global Mayors Dialogue-Zhengzhou played a significant role in emphasizing the value of combining urban and cultural development in ways that benefit both local communities and international tourism.

It is obvious that the preservation of cultural heritage will be essential in determining how tourism, urban planning, and economic growth develop in cities like Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou is well-positioned to continue being a leader in urban development and cultural preservation for many years to come thanks to projects like the Fuminli Cultural Block and the Shang City Archaeological Site Park.

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Zhengzhou’s Unique Blend of Heritage and Urban Renewal Inspires Global Dialogue: What You Need To Know

Zhengzhou, a city rich in culture, has become the place to be for the combination of preservation of the past with urban development. The Global Mayors Dialogue and the International Mayors’ Forum on Tourism 2025 were held in the city from October 22 to 25, 2025. More than 300 mayors, experts and scholars from all over the world gathered for the discussion of sustainable urban renewal. The forum’s topic, ‘Preserving the Cultural Legacy of Ancient Capitals and Driving Urban Renewal‘, was an eye-opener to the global situation of how to keep the past and the present in a nice balance, thus preventing the one from choking the other.

Cultural Heritage at the Heart of Urban Development

Zhengzhou has pioneered a model for cultural heritage integration into urban planning. The city is leading the charge with its ‘archaeology first, construction later‘ approach, ensuring that historical relics and archaeological sites are protected during modern development projects. This forward-thinking model has allowed Zhengzhou to preserve its ancient history while advancing urban growth.

One of the key projects discussed during the forum was the Zhengzhou Shang City Archaeological Site Park. Here, 3,600-year-old Shang Dynasty city walls have been seamlessly incorporated into modern city life. The park offers an interactive experience, inviting visitors to engage with the history of the Shang Dynasty while enjoying a contemporary urban environment. The integration of this archaeological site into the fabric of modern Zhengzhou showcases how cities can evolve without losing touch with their roots.

The Fuminli cultural block is another prime example of how cultural industries can thrive alongside historical preservation. The project aims to preserve the original street layout while incorporating modern cultural elements, creating a thematic space where tradition and modernity coexist. This innovative approach ensures that Zhengzhou retains its authentic cultural charm while offering unique, immersive tourism experiences.

Sustainable Tourism: A Global Exchange of Ideas

The forum provided a platform for global leaders to share experiences and strategies on how best to integrate heritage preservation with tourism. Delegates from cities such as Asti, Italy, Palomeque, Spain, and Rotorua, New Zealand, shared their approaches to cultural tourism and urban development.

For example, in Asti, Italy, the city has transformed historical sites into cultural hubs, leveraging its winemaking tradition to offer experiential tourism that not only preserves its history but revitalizes the local economy. Similarly, Palomeque in Spain has embraced proactive protection, integrating modern elements into traditional streetscapes, allowing the city’s historic areas to thrive alongside contemporary urban developments.

Rotorua, a city known for its indigenous Maori culture, has used modern technology to breathe new life into traditional cultural practices, creating economic opportunities while promoting sustainable tourism. These examples highlight how cities around the world are finding innovative ways to preserve their cultural heritage while supporting modern economic growth and tourism.

Zhengzhou’s Role in Shaping the Future of Urban Development

As cities continue to face the pressures of modernization, Zhengzhou has shown that it is possible to create a sustainable urban model that incorporates cultural heritage. The city’s approach to urban renewal is not about mere reconstruction but rather about fostering organic growth—allowing for the preservation of history while embracing innovation. This philosophy offers a balanced path forward for cities worldwide that are seeking to respect their cultural roots while moving toward a modern future.

Zhengzhou, a Cultural and Tourism Hub of the Future

Zhengzhou’s vision for urban renewal is an inspiring example of how ancient cities can shape the future of urban development and tourism. By blending cultural heritage with modernity, the city offers a unique travel experience, where history is not only preserved but integrated into the modern urban landscape. As more cities around the world look for sustainable models of growth, Zhengzhou’s approach provides valuable insights into how cultural tourism can play a central role in the future of urban development.

In this cooperative conversation, Zhengzhou is asserting its status as a cultural tourism leader by providing tourists with the chance to witness the coexistence of ancient customs and modern creativity in one of the most significant cities in China’s history. This strategy is not only changing Zhengzhou but is also opening the door for cities around the world to go down the same path and find their own ways between heritage preservation and urban renewal.

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Ajman Launches Roadshow in Eastern Europe to Strengthen Tourism Ties

The Ajman Department of Tourism Development (ADTD) has recently kicked off an exciting roadshow across Eastern Europe. This initiative, spearheaded by H.E. Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi, marks a significant step in enhancing Ajman’s profile in the global tourism market. With an eye on strengthening its international presence, the Ajman tourism body aims to increase the emirate’s appeal to travelers from Eastern European countries, highlighting its rich blend of nature, culture, and luxury hospitality.

Ajman, one of the UAE’s lesser-known gems, is positioning itself as a prime destination for international tourists. This roadshow targets major cities across Eastern Europe, seeking to connect with local travel agencies, tour operators, and hospitality stakeholders to foster long-lasting business relationships. Through these direct interactions, the ADTD hopes to raise awareness of Ajman’s distinctive offerings and increase tourist traffic to the emirate.

Expanding Ajman’s Reach

The primary goal of this Eastern European roadshow is to introduce Ajman to an entirely new group of potential travelers. While the emirate is known within the UAE, it is relatively unexplored by tourists from Eastern Europe. By visiting key cities in this region, the ADTD hopes to bridge the gap between Ajman and a new market of travelers eager to explore the UAE. With its picturesque beaches, cultural sites, and family-friendly attractions, Ajman has much to offer.

Eastern Europe represents an exciting opportunity for Ajman to diversify its tourism base. Many of these countries, including Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania, have shown a growing interest in Middle Eastern destinations. Ajman’s efforts to tap into these markets come at an ideal time, as travel restrictions continue to ease, and international tourism is on the rise once again.

Creating Meaningful Partnerships

The roadshow’s primary aim is to form valuable partnerships with tour operators, travel agencies, and hospitality businesses. These partnerships are seen as critical to establishing Ajman as a must-visit destination for Eastern European tourists. By building strong relationships with the local travel industry, the ADTD aims to create tailored travel packages and joint promotional activities that will attract more tourists to Ajman.

Ajman’s tourism strategy focuses not just on attracting visitors, but on offering them something truly memorable. Through collaborations with local stakeholders, Ajman hopes to integrate more authentic local experiences into its tourism offerings, from exploring traditional markets to enjoying the emirate’s natural beauty.

Moreover, the ADTD sees this roadshow as an important step in positioning Ajman as a sustainable and responsible tourism destination. Ajman is committed to ensuring that its tourism growth benefits both the local community and the environment, supporting sustainable development and offering travelers the opportunity to connect with the culture and landscape in meaningful ways.

Strengthening Ajman’s Global Tourism Footprint

Ajman is increasingly determined to expand its tourism footprint beyond its regional boundaries. Through initiatives like this roadshow, the ADTD is actively working to put the emirate on the global tourism map. The Eastern European market offers a wealth of potential, and the roadshow serves as a pivotal point in attracting new visitors and encouraging return travel from the region.

The launch of this roadshow follows a broader strategy by the ADTD to diversify its tourism markets. Ajman has long been known for its pristine beaches and family-friendly resorts, but it is also home to a rich cultural heritage that often goes unnoticed by traditional tourists. The ADTD is keen to highlight these aspects of Ajman, offering travelers a chance to experience the emirate’s unique combination of both modernity and tradition.

Through this roadshow, the ADTD also aims to position Ajman tourism as a key player in the region’s hospitality industry. Whether it’s through unique cultural experiences, high-end resorts, or exciting leisure activities, Ajman is working to establish itself as a destination of choice for international travelers.

The launch of the Ajman Department of Tourism Development’s roadshow in Eastern Europe is a clear indication of the emirate’s commitment to growing its tourism industry and building global connections. By focusing on strategic partnerships, sustainability, and authentic local experiences, Ajman is making significant strides in positioning itself as a premier destination in the UAE for international travelers.

This initiative is just the beginning of a broader effort by the ADTD to diversify its tourism markets, strengthen Ajman’s position on the world stage, and contribute to the emirate’s economic growth. The roadshow is expected to pave the way for more collaborations, increased visitor numbers, and greater international interest in what Ajman has to offer. With Eastern Europe in its sights, Ajman is on its way to becoming a top choice for travelers seeking new, exciting, and sustainable destinations in the UAE.

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In a striking act of self-critique, one of the architects of the transformer technology that powers ChatGPT, Claude, and virtually every major AI system told an audience of industry leaders this week that artificial intelligence research has become dangerously narrow — and that he's moving on from his own creation.

Llion Jones, who co-authored the seminal 2017 paper "Attention Is All You Need" and even coined the name "transformer," delivered an unusually candid assessment at the TED AI conference in San Francisco on Tuesday: Despite unprecedented investment and talent flooding into AI, the field has calcified around a single architectural approach, potentially blinding researchers to the next major breakthrough.

"Despite the fact that there's never been so much interest and resources and money and talent, this has somehow caused the narrowing of the research that we're doing," Jones told the audience. The culprit, he argued, is the "immense amount of pressure" from investors demanding returns and researchers scrambling to stand out in an overcrowded field.

The warning carries particular weight given Jones's role in AI history. The transformer architecture he helped develop at Google has become the foundation of the generative AI boom, enabling systems that can write essays, generate images, and engage in human-like conversation. His paper has been cited more than 100,000 times, making it one of the most influential computer science publications of the century.

Now, as CTO and co-founder of Tokyo-based Sakana AI, Jones is explicitly abandoning his own creation. "I personally made a decision in the beginning of this year that I'm going to drastically reduce the amount of time that I spend on transformers," he said. "I'm explicitly now exploring and looking for the next big thing."

Why more AI funding has led to less creative research, according to a transformer pioneer

Jones painted a picture of an AI research community suffering from what he called a paradox: More resources have led to less creativity. He described researchers constantly checking whether they've been "scooped" by competitors working on identical ideas, and academics choosing safe, publishable projects over risky, potentially transformative ones.

"If you're doing standard AI research right now, you kind of have to assume that there's maybe three or four other groups doing something very similar, or maybe exactly the same," Jones said, describing an environment where "unfortunately, this pressure damages the science, because people are rushing their papers, and it's reducing the amount of creativity."

He drew an analogy from AI itself — the "exploration versus exploitation" trade-off that governs how algorithms search for solutions. When a system exploits too much and explores too little, it finds mediocre local solutions while missing superior alternatives. "We are almost certainly in that situation right now in the AI industry," Jones argued.

The implications are sobering. Jones recalled the period just before transformers emerged, when researchers were endlessly tweaking recurrent neural networks — the previous dominant architecture — for incremental gains. Once transformers arrived, all that work suddenly seemed irrelevant. "How much time do you think those researchers would have spent trying to improve the recurrent neural network if they knew something like transformers was around the corner?" he asked.

He worries the field is repeating that pattern. "I'm worried that we're in that situation right now where we're just concentrating on one architecture and just permuting it and trying different things, where there might be a breakthrough just around the corner."

How the 'Attention is all you need' paper was born from freedom, not pressure

To underscore his point, Jones described the conditions that allowed transformers to emerge in the first place — a stark contrast to today's environment. The project, he said, was "very organic, bottom up," born from "talking over lunch or scrawling randomly on the whiteboard in the office."

Critically, "we didn't actually have a good idea, we had the freedom to actually spend time and go and work on it, and even more importantly, we didn't have any pressure that was coming down from management," Jones recounted. "No pressure to work on any particular project, publish a number of papers to push a certain metric up."

That freedom, Jones suggested, is largely absent today. Even researchers recruited for astronomical salaries — "literally a million dollars a year, in some cases" — may not feel empowered to take risks. "Do you think that when they start their new position they feel empowered to try their wild ideas and more speculative ideas, or do they feel immense pressure to prove their worth and once again, go for the low hanging fruit?" he asked.

Why one AI lab is betting that research freedom beats million-dollar salaries

Jones's proposed solution is deliberately provocative: Turn up the "explore dial" and openly share findings, even at competitive cost. He acknowledged the irony of his position. "It may sound a little controversial to hear one of the Transformers authors stand on stage and tell you that he's absolutely sick of them, but it's kind of fair enough, right? I've been working on them longer than anyone, with the possible exception of seven people."

At Sakana AI, Jones said he's attempting to recreate that pre-transformer environment, with nature-inspired research and minimal pressure to chase publications or compete directly with rivals. He offered researchers a mantra from engineer Brian Cheung: "You should only do the research that wouldn't happen if you weren't doing it."

One example is Sakana's "continuous thought machine," which incorporates brain-like synchronization into neural networks. An employee who pitched the idea told Jones he would have faced skepticism and pressure not to waste time at previous employers or academic positions. At Sakana, Jones gave him a week to explore. The project became successful enough to be spotlighted at NeurIPS, a major AI conference.

Jones even suggested that freedom beats compensation in recruiting. "It's a really, really good way of getting talent," he said of the exploratory environment. "Think about it, talented, intelligent people, ambitious people, will naturally seek out this kind of environment."

The transformer's success may be blocking AI's next breakthrough

Perhaps most provocatively, Jones suggested transformers may be victims of their own success. "The fact that the current technology is so powerful and flexible... stopped us from looking for better," he said. "It makes sense that if the current technology was worse, more people would be looking for better."

He was careful to clarify that he's not dismissing ongoing transformer research. "There's still plenty of very important work to be done on current technology and bringing a lot of value in the coming years," he said. "I'm just saying that given the amount of talent and resources that we have currently, we can afford to do a lot more."

His ultimate message was one of collaboration over competition. "Genuinely, from my perspective, this is not a competition," Jones concluded. "We all have the same goal. We all want to see this technology progress so that we can all benefit from it. So if we can all collectively turn up the explore dial and then openly share what we find, we can get to our goal much faster."

The high stakes of AI's exploration problem

The remarks arrive at a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence. The industry grapples with mounting evidence that simply building larger transformer models may be approaching diminishing returns. Leading researchers have begun openly discussing whether the current paradigm has fundamental limitations, with some suggesting that architectural innovations — not just scale — will be needed for continued progress toward more capable AI systems.

Jones's warning suggests that finding those innovations may require dismantling the very incentive structures that have driven AI's recent boom. With tens of billions of dollars flowing into AI development annually and fierce competition among labs driving secrecy and rapid publication cycles, the exploratory research environment he described seems increasingly distant.

Yet his insider perspective carries unusual weight. As someone who helped create the technology now dominating the field, Jones understands both what it takes to achieve breakthrough innovation and what the industry risks by abandoning that approach. His decision to walk away from transformers — the architecture that made his reputation — adds credibility to a message that might otherwise sound like contrarian positioning.

Whether AI's power players will heed the call remains uncertain. But Jones offered a pointed reminder of what's at stake: The next transformer-scale breakthrough could be just around the corner, pursued by researchers with the freedom to explore. Or it could be languishing unexplored while thousands of researchers race to publish incremental improvements on architecture that, in Jones's words, one of its creators is "absolutely sick of."

After all, he's been working on transformers longer than almost anyone. He would know when it's time to move on.