HZICC: Hangzhou weaves global bonds through sister cities

HANGZHOU, China, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Three-year-old Yu Shuya of Hangzhou proudly donned his Brazil jersey to greet 42-year-old Brazilian lawyer and rising political star, Renato de Almeida Freitas Junior. The excited boy instantly liked his first-time visitor over football. Deeply touched by this genuine warmth, Renato said later, "Hangzhou residents are just as hospitable as Brazilians!

Talking about Hangzhou's sister-city ties with Curitiba since 2001, Renato expressed full confidence that football could bring the cities closer. He envisioned joint grassroots training programs for coaches, players or youth teams.

Hangzhou's global network thrives, maintaining 31 sister-city relationships and exchanging with 46 friendship cities across five continents as of July, 2025.

Hangzhou International Communication Center (HZICC) has been leveraging these ties to foster people-to-people exchanges. Its "A Tale of Two Cities" series features in-depth dialogues between Hangzhou residents and their counterparts from sister cities worldwide. Participants include Boston marathoners sharing sports stories, Bangkok conductors discussing music's global dimensions, and New Zealand's Queenstown tourism experts exploring collaborative travel models.

When Italian documentary filmmaker Leonardo Cinieri Lombroso met Hangzhou-based producer Gu Jiafeng, their conversation spanned from careers to connections, revealing how many shared traits are hidden between Verona and Hangzhou, two culturally rich cities. For teachers and students from Rockwell College and Hangzhou High School Qiantang, they found it fantastic to join Neil Charles Clarke, CEO of Ireland China Culture and Education Center, to start a dialogue on educational innovation and cultural exchange in digital age between Hangzhou and Cork.

Four young British young men discussed future cities and entrepreneurship as the tie between Hangzhou and Leeds goes closer. Max Wheatley, student of SOAS University of London, said at the end of the round-table dialogue:"A similarity between two people might be enough to cause initial connection and then the difference might be what actually become the enjoyable thing that solidifies the friendship."

In April 2025, Niš, Republic of Serbia and Hangzhou signed a memorandum for friendly cooperation. HZICC brought city promos and citizen greetings to Serbia, where locals eagerly shared their China connections – including a Red Star Belgrade museum curator and an elderly lotus enthusiast who left a heartfelt message, "Friendship lasts forever". Ahead of the 10th anniversary of city friendship with Istanbul, HZICC engaged prominent Turkish archaeologists including Nezih Başgelen and Murat Sav who showed keen interest in Hangzhou's Liangzhu Civilization with a commemorative Göbekli Tepe pottery carving.