On March 17-22, ISI Florence Director Stefano Baldassarri and Arezzo City Councillor Marcello Comanducci paid an official visit to Dujiangyan (Sichuan province, China). The goal of their visit was to promote a partnership between these two cities, with our institute serving as liaison from the start. ISI Florence first brought this project to the attention of the Arezzo Mayor, Professor Alessandro Ghinelli, and his staff last summer.

Preliminary talks with the Dujiangyan authorities, in particular the local Foreign Affairs Office, began soon afterwards. During their stay in the Sichuan province, Director Baldassarri and Councillor Comanducci met with the major local authorities, starting with Zhang Yusong (Secretary of CPC Dujiangyan Committee) and Dong Guowei (Director of Dujiangyan Foreign Affairs Office). There followed visits to local university campuses, schools, and tourist sites, including the renowned Dujiangyan irrigation system (dating from the 3rd century B.C.), nearby Mt. Qingcheng (the cradle of Taoism), and the Panda Base at its foot. The meetings led to the drafting of a preliminary agreement between the two cities, in which ISI Florence features as the reference institution for academic initiatives. We thus hope that a fruitful collaboration will begin after the Chinese delegation’s visit to Arezzo in the summer, with ISI Florence helping Chinese students meet their peers from various parts of the world.