On April 10, 2026, Heze, the celebrated peony-growing city in eastern China’s Shandong Province, marked a major milestone in its global engagement strategy with the official opening of the Heze International Communication Center. The launch ceremony also featured the signing of a framework cooperation agreement on international outreach, reached by three parties: the Publicity Department of the CPC Heze Municipal Committee, the Business Development Department of China Daily, and Heze Daily.
As the core governing body leading the initiative, Heze’s municipal publicity department framed the new center as a strategic platform to amplify the city’s voice on the global stage. Cao Lin, director of the department, outlined that the center will draw on Heze’s one-of-a-kind cultural resources — including its world-famous peony heritage, traditional Han Chinese clothing (hanfu), and centuries-old local opera forms — to build genuine connections with international audiences and showcase the city’s distinct cultural charm.
Beyond promoting local culture, the collaboration also carries a broader mission: to carve out innovative channels for Heze to contribute to the national effort of sharing authentic Chinese stories with global communities. Cao Lin explicitly noted that Heze anticipates China Daily will provide critical support for the development of the city’s official multilingual website, expand its suite of international communication channels, and ultimately strengthen Heze’s visibility and reputation across the world.
For its part, China Daily has a long-standing track record of supporting Heze’s efforts to boost its international influence, according to Gong Zhengzheng, director of China Daily’s Business Development Department. He emphasized that the establishment of the new communication center creates a valuable opportunity to deepen the existing partnership between Heze’s municipal authorities and China Daily.
Looking forward, Gong laid out the collaborative agenda: the partnership will not only spotlight Heze’s profound historical and cultural legacy, but also highlight the city’s contemporary progress in advancing balanced, coordinated development between ecological protection and economic growth. The end goal, he confirmed, is to deliver a comprehensive, vivid portrait of Heze — covering both its time-honored cultural appeal and its modern development achievements — to audiences across the globe.