RCU Strengthens Ties with China as a Key Partner in Culture, Heritage, and Tourism

AlUla, Saudi Arabia, 19, July 2024: The Royal Commission for AlUla’s (RCU) strengthened and expanded its longstanding cultural, heritage, and tourism ties with China during two major global cultural forums.

The Silk Road Dialogue and International Ancient Capitals Forum events, held in Istanbul, Türkiye, and the Chinese city of Luoyang respectively, provided RCU with important platforms to raise the profile of AlUla as the world’s largest living museum among a specially invited audience of renowned cultural experts, heritage specialists, and tourism sector leaders from China and beyond.

As a founding member of the International Tourism Alliance of Silk Road Cities, AlUla is among 63 destinations in 28 countries united by the flow of ideas and civilisations that flourished along ancient trade routes. 

Featuring a host of exhibits, showcases, and discussions, with collaborative efforts to support official visits by delegates to AlUla and other destinations, the Silk Road Dialogue – which took place from 27-30 June – contributed to RCU’s mandate of cultural conservation by expanding established strategic partnerships while forging fresh ones.

Tourism was a key area of focus, with RCU engaging with partners from China and other international Silk Road Cities to develop opportunities to attract and host international visitors as part of their shared heritage offering. 

Taking place around the same time – from 26-28 June – the International Ancient Capitals Forum was an opportunity for RCU to share its focus on the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.

Highlighting AlUla’s established reputation as a globally significant ancient destination, the Forum was attended by a cohort of history experts, government officials, and diplomats from China and around the globe.

Launched with the aim of fostering dialogue and collaboration between cities that can trace their history through millennia, the Forum builds on an agreement signed between AlUla and its Chinese partners at the Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage earlier this year. 

High-level meetings between RCU and municipal government officials from Luoyang, which is in Henan province, discussed areas of cooperation including tourism, agriculture, conservation, and urban development, while exploring new sectors of partnership between China and Saudi Arabia. 

RCU spokesperson said: “The Royal Commission for AlUla continues to build on the deep-rooted foundations of cultural partnership that exists between China, the Kingdom, and northwest Arabia.

“The Silk Road Dialogue and International Ancient Capitals Forum events represented exciting opportunities to develop new avenues of collaboration, with a focus on expanding knowledge exchange and promoting tourism, with diverse initiatives built upon our shared status as ancient destinations and rapidly developing landmarks for human heritage.”