The Eastern charm seamlessly blended into the Western standing-style reception. Photo by Xu Boyuan, a reporter from Dalian News Media Group.

The improvised ensemble of Chinese and Western musical instruments by internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Dalian folk music artists enchanted French President Emmanuel Macron, who stopped to listen. The delicate aroma of Chinese delicacies such as dumplings, pot stickers, noodles, and glutinous rice balls filled the air, and the long-lingering aftertaste of Chinese white and yellow spirits created a unique charm. The Eastern charm seamlessly merged into the Western standing-style reception. The red elements of the Lunar Year of the Horse against the "Davos Blue" in the venue added a touch of warm Chinese New Year atmosphere to the winter Davos...

On the evening of January 20th local time, the "Dalian Night" reception of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting was successfully held for the ninth time in the foyer of the Plenary Hall at the Davos Congress Centre in Switzerland. Liang Jinhui, Executive Director and Chair of Greater China at the World Economic Forum, hosted the event. Borge Brende, President and CEO of the World Economic Forum, and Qiu Baolin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Deputy Mayor of Dalian, delivered speeches respectively. More than 1,000 guests, including Chinese and foreign dignitaries such as Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister D. Khandsaikhan, representatives of the World Economic Forum, well-known Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs, and Annual Meeting delegates, attended the event.

Here, the open city of Dalian showcases its inclusiveness and enthusiasm of "embracing all rivers," and takes another step towards a two-way interaction with the world.

Dalian Meets Davos Again

The distance between Dalian on the coast of the Yellow and Bohai Seas and the Swiss town of Davos surrounded by snow-capped mountains is 8,000 kilometers. The appearance of "Dalian Night" on the stage of the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is a "journey across mountains and seas." One of the original intentions of this cross-border journey is to let the participants feel the Chinese elements and hear the voice of Dalian during the winter Davos.

The theme of this year's "Dalian Night" is "Galloping into a New Journey, Connecting Mountains and Seas; Ushering in a Prosperous Chapter, Meeting the World." Starting from the staircase leading from the Davos Congress Centre to the Plenary Hall, with the theme of the "horse," an immersive "scenic view every three steps" was created. The venue mainly features red and gold colors to highlight the Chinese New Year atmosphere, with blue and white as auxiliary colors to combine Dalian's marine characteristics and Davos' ice and snow culture.

Entering the cultural staircase themed "Achieving Success," the handrail walls are decorated with the Chinese character "horse" in different fonts and round fans with horse patterns, closely adhering to the core theme of the "horse." Opposite the staircase is the main exhibition area centered around the letters "DALIAN," where the main body of the letters is composed of blind boxes of the Chinese zodiac made of southern Liaoning dough sculptures. As a traditional Chinese folk art made by hand-kneading colored flour, dough sculpture is an intangible cultural heritage that carries the emotions of Dalian. The guests on-site not only enjoyed the fun of opening blind boxes but also gained an in-depth understanding of Chinese traditional zodiac culture. Some guests even exchanged exclusive zodiac blind boxes with their companions.

In front of the "DALIAN" blind boxes, there are displays of intangible cultural heritage works such as Liaoning Xiuyu jade, Dalian shell carvings, Longquan celadon, and hand-made cheongsam made of xiangyunsha, which collectively demonstrate the profound heritage of Chinese traditional culture. Behind the blind boxes, there are horse silhouettes, inside which the "history of Dalian's hosting of Davos" is presented. Nine pictures represent the "eight encounters" between Davos and Dalian and the vision for future in-depth cooperation.

On the side of the main exhibition area, a themed food carving work named "Soaring" is particularly eye-catching. Made from white radishes, the work features 56 black-faced spoonbills, an endangered protected animal in Dalian, symbolizing the 56 successful annual meetings of the World Economic Forum.

"Dalian Night" also prepared souvenirs for the guests, such as Dalian-themed city scarves, shell-carving brooches, seafood snacks, and special tourism bookmarks. There were long queues in front of the stalls offering four types of Chinese cuisine: dumplings, potstickers, ramen, and tangyuan. The pre-made Dalian local seafood dishes like pickled fish with sauerkraut and "family reunion" dish were paired with mellow Chinese baijiu, yellow rice wine, and Tsingtao beer, allowing the world's taste buds to experience the "flavor of Dalian".

Dalian once again extends an invitation to the world.

At the event site, world-class cellist and Grammy Award winner Yo-Yo Ma and Dalian folk music artists presented an impromptu ensemble of Chinese and Western musical instruments. The cello "conversed" with five Chinese folk musical instruments: the suona, erhu, pipa, flute, and drum, telling a touching story: Two strangers met in the forest, used music as a bridge to integrate, found a common language, and went from being strangers to acquaintances. This wonderful performance accurately interpreted the theme of the 2026 Winter Davos Forum-"The Spirit of Dialogue", successfully attracting French President Emmanuel Macron to stop and watch.

Building a platform for open dialogue and communication is another important significance of "Dalian Night" that transcends mountains and seas. At the reception, guests stopped to chat, share friendship, discuss cooperation, and look forward to the development prospects. With its unique charm as an international city, Dalian and the world have achieved a two-way journey.

Dalian has never slowed down its pace of moving towards the world. Openness is not only the core advantage of the city's development but also deeply ingrained in the city's genes. In 2007, Dalian's continuous open-minded attitude received a positive response. This time, the world actively approached Dalian-the World Economic Forum joined hands with Dalian and made it the permanent host city of the Summer Davos Annual Meeting. This was the first time the forum had left Switzerland since its establishment 37 years ago.

From 2007 to 2024, the Summer Davos Forum and Dalian joined hands eight times, achieving in-depth integration. The themes of the forum, from "The Power of Change" to "New Frontiers of Future Growth", always made trend predictions and interpretations of global economic changes. Dalian has gained a new global perspective, insights into new trends in the world economy, and absorbed the thinking of global elites, gradually integrating them into the city's development plan.

The 2026 Winter Davos Forum brings together diverse voices from different industries, regions, and generations, promoting the exchange of open ideas and the collision of viewpoints. The "Spirit of Dialogue" resonates with the open "Dalian Night" once again.

Qiu Baolin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and the Deputy Mayor, said in his speech that "Dalian Night" is a window and a bridge to communicate with the world. The sounds of Chinese traditional musical instruments carry the millennium-old wisdom of "harmony and co-existence" in the East, and Dalian's special cuisine bears the sincere friendship of "welcoming friends from afar". He hoped that the guests could feel the inclusiveness and enthusiasm of this coastal city.

The ninth encounter of "Dalian Night" with the Winter Davos also indicates that the Summer Davos Forum is about to join hands with Dalian for the ninth time. In June this year, the Summer Davos Forum will return to Dalian. At that time, bid farewell to the winter chill and embrace the blue ocean and pleasant sea breeze, and start a deeper-level dialogue and cooperation.

At the "Dalian Night" event, Dalian extends a warm invitation to the world: Looking forward to meeting at the coast of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea in midsummer, and jointly attending a blue-themed event of thoughts and wisdom.