From May 16 to 18, 2025, the Ministry of Education Landscape Architecture Steering Committee Conference and the 10th Landscape Sustainability Science Forum were held in Xi’an.

The forum was jointly organized by the Landscape Architecture Sub-Committee of the Ministry of Education's Teaching Guidance Committee for Architecture, the Academic Committee of the Landscape Sustainability Science Forum Series, and the Professional Committee on Sustainable Resource Utilization and Disaster Reduction of the China Society of Natural Resources. It was hosted by Chang’an University and co-organized by several key laboratories and engineering research centers, including the Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Shaanxi Provincial Land Consolidation Key Laboratory, the Shaanxi Provincial Land Consolidation Engineering Technology Research Center, the Xi’an Key Laboratory of Territorial Spatial Information, and the Shaanxi Society of Landscape Architecture.

The conference was co-chaired by Professor Yang Rui, Chair of the Ministry of Education Landscape Architecture Teaching Guidance Committee and Professor at Tsinghua University; Professor Shi Peijun from Beijing Normal University; and Professor Wu Jianguo from Arizona State University, USA. Over 500 experts, young scholars, and student representatives from four continents gathered in the ancient capital of Xi’an for this academic event. The conference featured six keynote speeches, six sub-forums on landscape architecture education and landscape sustainability science, four training sessions on core landscape architecture courses, and face-to-face exchanges with journal editors-in-chief.

On May 16, the 2025 Working Meeting of the Landscape Architecture Sub-Committee of the Ministry of Education's Teaching Guidance Committee for Architecture and a doctoral student forum were held. Doctoral students from 10 universities, including Tsinghua University, Chongqing University, Beijing Forestry University, and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, presented cutting-edge research achievements through theoretical, technological, and case studies aligned with the conference theme.

Group Photo of Participating Experts

Group Photo of Distinguished Guests

The opening ceremony and keynote speeches took place on May 17. Attendees included President Zhang Dayu of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vice President Li Xiong of Beijing Forestry University, Professor Erle Ellis from the University of Maryland, USA, Professor Gary Tabor from Cornell University, USA, and Vice President Pei Jianzhong of Chang’an University. The opening ceremony was presided over by Bai Hua, Vice Dean of the School of Architecture at Chang’an University. Vice President Pei Jianzhong, Professor Wu Jianguo, and Professor Yang Rui delivered opening addresses.

In his speech, Pei Jianzhong emphasized the practical significance and historical mission of the conference theme, "Landscape Sustainability and Landscape Architecture Education Under Global Change." He outlined three action pathways: redefining educational paradigms, promoting techno-ecological collaborative innovation, and cultivating young talent, aiming to contribute to sustainable development and train outstanding professionals for ecological civilization construction.

Professor Wu Jianguo reviewed the development of the Landscape Sustainability Science Forum since its inception in 2013 and praised the significant contributions of Chinese universities in advancing sustainable landscape architecture. He noted that this year’s integration of the "Sustainable Landscape Design Forum" and the "Ministry of Education Landscape Architecture Steering Committee Meeting" marks a new stage in disciplinary development, strengthening the scientific foundation of landscape planning and architecture. He called for enhanced international cooperation to address major challenges in the field.

Professor Yang Rui highlighted the four distinctive features of the conference: interdisciplinary integration, global perspective, integrity, and cutting-edge content. He emphasized that the collaboration with the Landscape Sustainability Science Forum deepens cross-disciplinary and international cooperation mechanisms, contributing Chinese wisdom to global sustainable development. He expressed hope that the outcomes of the conference would support innovation in landscape architecture education, ecological civilization construction, and the goal of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Address by Professor Pei Jianzhong, Vice President of Chang’an UniversityAddress by Professor Yang Rui, Chair of the Landscape Architecture Teaching Steering Committee and Professor at Tsinghua UniversityAddress by Professor Wu Jianguo, Arizona State University, USA

During the conference, Professor Yang Rui and Chen Hua, Deputy Director of the Textbook Division of China Architecture & Building Press, donated new landscape architecture textbooks and academic works. Hou Quanhua, Dean of the School of Architecture at Chang’an University, and Bai Hua, Vice Dean, accepted the donations on behalf of the university.

On the evening of May 17, training sessions on core landscape architecture courses and face-to-face academic exchanges were held. Sixteen teachers from agriculture, engineering, and forestry fields engaged in teaching discussions across four major directions. On May 18, 58 experts and scholars from China and abroad conducted in-depth cross-regional and interdisciplinary dialogues on six thematic topics, building consensus on disciplinary development in the context of global change.

Book Donation Ceremony

Face-to-Face with Journal Editors-in-Chief

At the closing ceremony on May 18, co-chairs Professor Yang Rui and Professor Wu Jianguo summarized the academic consensus and practical pathways achieved during the conference. Together with Jia Kan, Party Secretary of the School of Architecture at Chang’an University, they handed over the conference flag to the next host institution, Tianjin University.

Conference Flag Handover

This conference not only facilitated mutual enrichment of theoretical research and educational practice but also provided scientific and innovative academic solutions to global environmental governance challenges through transnational and interdisciplinary exchanges, highlighting the unique value of landscape architecture in building a shared future for humanity.