The third Conference of International City Alliance of Springs Cultural Landscape is scheduled to commence in Jinan, capital city of Shandong province on Sept 4, 2018.

The three day event will welcome 25 delegations from 19 spring cities from UK, the United States, Germany, Finland, Italy, Greece, Russia and South Korea.

"A city becomes more refreshing with springs," said Yang Bo, vice director of the office of spring protection in Jinan.

According to Yang, this year's event, focusing on "City and Spring", will include a conference for the mayors of international alliance cities and a forum on International City Alliance of Springs Cultural Landscape.

More than 100 representatives and heritage experts will gather in Jinan to share their insights on spring's beauty and culture, as well as discuss how to better exert the advantages of spring and push forward the spring's application for "world cultural heritage" status.

Springs in Jinan have passed the on-the-spot investigation and review of application materials by the National Culture Heritage Administration, and currently await the final approval to be included on China's World Cultural Heritage Tentative List.

The local government also initiated the legislation work on spring protection, which was an essential part of world heritage application.

"We aim to bring together like-minded people with springs," said Liu Xuedong, vice director of the foreign affairs office of Jinan.

According to Liu, some cities involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and World Top 500 companies will also be invited to the conference to enhance cooperation.

Moreover, Jinan Innovation Zone will sign an agreement with Sacramento city, California on construction of an overseas innovation center during the event, in a bid to accelerate the conversion of new and old kinetic energy.

The third Conference of International City Alliance of Springs Cultural Landscape is scheduled to commence in Jinan, capital city of Shandong province on Sept 4, 2018, according to a news conference held on Aug 29. [Photo/dzwww.com]

Black Tiger Spring, named for its deafening roar, originates from a 3-m deep and 1.7-m wide cave and spews water out of three tiger-head shaped stones. [Photo/e23.cn]

The iconic Baotu Spring of Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]