Representatives from Baltimore Sister Cities (BSC) and its Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC), Maryland Department of Commerce, and Montgomery County attended the 7th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Hangzhou city in China in October 2025. The conference featured an opening concert by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), during the orchestra’s multi-city tour of China. The delegation also visited Xiamen to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore-Xiamen sister city relationship — this visit included a BSO and Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra exchange; a 40th anniversary concert by BSO; site visits; and meetings with Xiamen leadership, port officials, and Shuangshi High School.
Details about the trip activities are below.
7th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference
7th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Hangzhou city in China October 25-27, 2025 included forums on educational exchanges, urban innovation and development, sustainable urban practices, and case studies of sister cities exchanges. Representatives from many U.S. cities were in attendance. The state of Maryland was represented by delegates from Montgomery County and Baltimore Sister Cities. A representative of the Maryland Department of Commerce joined for both the Hangzhou and Xiamen legs of the October trip to China. Members of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Hangzhou Philharmonic opened the Sister Cities Conference with a concert. Hosea Chew (Director of Administration, Office of the City Council President) gave a presentation about Baltimore at the conference.
Visit to Xiamen
The Xiamen program included an exchange between the BSO and Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra (XPO); a 40th anniversary concert by members of the BSO; a pop-up concert by BSO members and Xiamen students on Gulangyu (Island); a meeting with Xiamen leadership; a visit to the tree planted by Baltimore Mayor Schaefer and Xiamen Mayor Zou in Wanshi Botanical Garden in 1985; a session with Port of Xiamen officials; and a visit to Shuangshi High School to discuss future education initiatives. BXSCC presented books on behalf of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) to the Jimei Branch of the Xiamen Municipal Library.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra tour
Five musicians from Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), together with BSO President & CEO Mark Hanson, traveled to China to represent the BSO, the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, October 24 through November 2, 2025. As part of the tour, the BSO ensemble shared a special performance at the Jiageng Theatre to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Xiamen, China, and the City of Baltimore, MD USA. BXSCC and the city of Xiamen helped with the planning and coordination for the trip.
The tour was preceded by a Send-off Concert at Baltimore City Hall on October 6.
Tour itinerary:
Hangzhou | October 24-27, 2025
Engagements at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and Zhejiang University and a special joint concert at Zhejiang Concert Hall with the members of Hangzhou Philharmonic to open the 7th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Hangzhou City.
Xiamen | October 28 – 29, 2025
Cultural exchanges with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Xiamen Song & Dance Theatre; visit to Gulangyu Island for a pop-up concert by BSO members and Xiamen students; luncheon with leaders of Xiamen Municipal Government and Foreign Affairs Office; and a concert celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Xiamen-Baltimore Sister City relationship.
Xi’an | October 30, 2025
Performance as part of the Silk Road International Tourism Expo.
Shanghai | October 31 – November 1, 2025
Performance at the Shanghai Conservatory with attendees from the U.S. Consulate, members of the American companies based in Shanghai and Chinese companies based in Maryland, and music lovers.
Other events in 2025 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore and Xiamen Sister City relationship
Baltimore Youth Ambassadors Trip to China
BXSCC arranged for seven Baltimore youth to participate in the 2025 edition of their Youth Ambassadors Program, with a trip to China in July 2025 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC) and the 45th anniversary of the Maryland-Anhui Province Sister State Committee. More information about this trip
Xiamen Vice Mayoral Delegation to Baltimore
A delegation led by Xiamen Vice Mayor Zhuang Rongliang and including representatives from the Xiamen Port Authority and Xiamen Foreign Affairs Office visited Baltimore in April 2025. The delegation met with representatives of the Maryland Port Authority, Baltimore’s Office of the Mayor and other city government representatives, and BXSCC. They also toured the 40th anniversary exhibition at the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
40th Year Anniversary Exhibition at Enoch Pratt Free Library
Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) and BXSCC collaborated to create an exhibition at the Central Library about Baltimore and Xiamen’s 40-year sister city relationship, in four display cases. Exhibition included photos of Xiamen, copies of the original sister city agreement, examples of student and professional exchanges over the years, information about Baltimore Sister Cities and activities held annually by BSC’s Asian sister committees to celebrate contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to Baltimore.
Documentary Video
Media professionals from Xiamen traveled to Baltimore to make a documentary about the Sister City relationship, to mark its 40th anniversary. To view the 8 minute documentary (Chinese-language), see the video on this news article from the Xiamen Media Group: www.xmtv.cn/xmtv/2025-12-30/ffa0dd31aa49909a.html
