An actress wearing ancient Chinese clothing puts on a show in a transparent boat for tourists on the bank in Nanxi River Wetland Park in Wenzhou's Yongjia county. [Photo/IC]

China's Wenzhou and Jinan, Japan's Oita prefecture, and South Korea's Gyeongju were conferred the title of "2022 Culture City of East Asia" at a teleconference attended by culture ministers of the three countries on Aug 30.

The annual election for "Culture City of East Asia", which was initiated by the three countries in 2013, is aimed at promoting cultural exchange as well as celebrating cultural diversity in East Asia.

Wenzhou in Zhejiang province is the tenth Chinese city to receive the title.

The city was ranked first among the five Chinese candidates in the domestic evaluation carried out by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism this year. The evaluation indicators include endowment and protection of cultural resources, culture facilities and services, development of culture and tourism industry, as well as integration of culture and tourism.

Wenzhou first became a city about 2,200 years ago. Today, it is home to 35 national intangible cultural heritage items and four UNESCO-recognized ICH items.

Wenzhou, which was a hub city on the ancient maritime Silk Road, has long maintained close relations with Japan and South Korea in culture and economy. Since China started its reform and opening-up in 1978, as many as 700,000 Wenzhou natives have migrated to 131 countries and set up 350 overseas Chinese societies, 47 overseas Chinese media companies, and 70 overseas Chinese language training centers. 

As a "2022 Culture City of East Asia", Wenzhou will host a series of high-profile international exchange activities next year to showcase its cultural strength and boost its cultural influence in the international community.