The China (Hangzhou) Art and Technology Biennale opened at Yuhang Art Museum on the afternoon of October 18. It is jointly organized by the Communication Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, China Artists Association, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Broadcasting and Tourism, Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the China Academy of Art (CAA). As a key international event for cultural and art exchange held during the 3rd Liangzhu Forum, the biennale gathers works by over 160 artists, scientists, and other creators from more than 20 countries and regions. The event uses themed exhibitions and cultural dialogues to boost exchanges and mutual learning, displaying the reconstruction trajectory and future prospects of cultural ecology amid technological iteration. It also highlights Zhejiang’s achievements in digital culture and art-tech integration after its 20-year endeavor in promoting the "Eight Major Initiatives" for cultural construction. It responds to the theme of the 3rd Liangzhu Forum — Revitalization of Civilization: Cultural Heritage and Human Culture Diversity.

The opening ceremony of “Symbiotic Cosmos – China (Hangzhou) Art and Technology Biennial” was attended by distinguished guests who also participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The attendees included Xu Jiang, Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Wang Ping, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Secretary-General of the China Artists Association, Shen Shicheng, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Zhang Guangzhou, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture Radio Television and Tourism, Li Gao, Editor-in-Chief of Zhejiang Daily Press Group and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Lin Liang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Zhejiang Cultural Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd., Dong Qingyuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Westlake University, Jin Yibin, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Academy of Art, Yu Xuhong, President of the China Academy of Art, Xing Huidong, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government and Full-time Vice President of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Zhao Xiaogang, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and Ni Weijun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Yuhang District Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of Yuhang District. International guests included Sir Nicholas Penny, former Director of the National Gallery (the UK), recipient of the Zhejiang West Lake Friendship Award, and Distinguished Professor at the China Academy of Art, Roger M. Buergel, Artistic Director of the 12th Kassel Documenta, Petteri Nisunen, Vice Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Arno Fabre, French contemporary interdisciplinary artist, and Quentin Destieu, Artist and Doctoral Researcher in Artistic Creation at Aix-Marseille University (France).

Wang Ping, Zach Lieberman (head of the Future Sketches group at the MIT Media Lab), and Yu Xuhong delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was hosted by Han Xu, Vice President of the China Academy of Art.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Qiu Yijiao, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Zhejiang Media Group, Zhao Zhifeng, Member of the Party Committee and Chief Engineer of Zhejiang Lab, Ji Suchen, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd., Jiang Yufeng, Full-time Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Research Institute of Literature and History, You Kuangling, Member of the Party Committee, Director, and Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Cultural Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd., Wu Xueyong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of Hangzhou Branch of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture, Shinohara Noriyuki, Professor and Vice President of Musashino Art University (Japan), Fu Qiaoling, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Academy of Art, Li Dujin, Member of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Wenzhou University, Zheng Chonghui, Member of the Party Committee and Executive Vice President of the Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hugo Chapman, Head of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, Isabella Lodi-Fé, Researcher in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, James Hope, Recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award, Dean and Professor of the Institute of Transportation Design at the China Academy of Art, Lu Wenyu, Foreign Academician of the French Academy of Architecture and Professor at the China Academy of Art, and Duan Weibin, Curator of the exhibition and Dean of the School of Design & Innovation at the China Academy of Art.

Other attendees included Ji Pengcheng, President of Art Magazine under the China Artists Association, Dong Fuquan, Director of the Cultural Reform Office of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Jia Yingdong, Director of the Science and Technology Design Office of the Department of Housing and Rural-Urban Development of Zhejiang Province, Fang Wei, Director of the Science and Education Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, He Xianjun, Deputy Director of the Social Development and Reform Office of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Huang Jiangping, Director of the Art Office of the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Zeng Hong, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Yuhang District People’s Congress and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Liangzhu New City, Si Jiangang, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the Yuhang District Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Liangzhu Sub-district, Mao Chuanlai, Director of the Wenyun Weekly of Zhejiang Daily, Zhao Guozhi, Director of the Zhejiang Science and Technology Museum, Weng Ling, Founder of IDEAS and the Arts China Union, Chen Xiaowen, Tenured Professor at the School of Art and Design, Alfred University (the US), You Hailu, Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fei Jun, Professor of Art and Technology at the School of Design, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhao Weiqi, Head of the Global Developer Ecosystem at Rokid, Yang Zhaoyi, Vice President of Hangzhou BrainCo Inc., as well as representatives of domestic and international universities, participating artists, and faculty and students from the China Academy of Art.

Liangzhu is the cradle of Chinese civilization which goes back 5,000 years. The ethos of art-technology integration has long been etched into Hangzhou’s historical fabric. Today, the city’s thriving digital economy and cutting-edge AI industries are creating a dynamic platform for profound dialogue between humanity and technology. The CAA's nearly century-long journey embodies the practice of "art-technology" integration. Guided by its philosophy of Global-Local Synergy and Humanities-Technology Integration, CAA has built a dynamic engine for interdisciplinary innovation. Currently, it is developing a forward-looking "Unwalled Academy" in Liangzhu, leveraging art-technology integration to empower new quality productive forces. On this cradle of civilization, a profound dialogue between humanity and technology has begun — where ancient cultural origins and cutting-edge art-technology exploration resonate in harmony.

The biennale, themed "Cultural Ecological Reconstruction Amidst Technological Iteration"，starts the dialogue between "Heaven, Earth, Human, and Machine" through four core sections: "Connections: Embodied Interaction," "Symbiosis: Digital Education," "Speculation: Ecological Reconstruction", and "Manifesto: Philosophical Inquiry". The first section allows visitors to experience the connections between humans, machines, and the world through interactions. The second section focuses on promoting the coexistence of humanities and technology through digital education. The third section encourages visitors to speculate on how technology and environment can interact. The final section prompts reflections on the values and ethical boundaries of art-technology integration.

The exhibition is hosted at the newly opened Yuhang Art Museum. The museum's double-ring circular structure evokes a visual imagery of "floating" between heaven and earth. Its flowing form echoes the infinite exploration and temporal and spacial continuity symbolized by the "Mobius strip" — a metaphor that resonates with French writer Gustave Flaubert’s famous observation: "Art and science will meet again at the summit after they are separated at the foot of the mountain." This event brings together international artists who have been attracted by Liangzhu civilization and the Silk Road Artists' Rendezvous and inspired to create on-site fieldwork, and Chinese artists who, starting from Liangzhu civilization, have initiated a dialogue with ancient civilizations worldwide through art projects like "Art: 30°N Latitude", as well as the "Inter-World-View", which explores the origins of global civilizations. Within the exhibition space, over 110 artworks collectively form a "Mountain of Civilization", where "explorers" climb along diverse altitudes and paths, ultimately engaging in dialogue at the summit where humanities and technology converge.

As Yu Xuhong, President of the China Academy of Art, noted in the exhibition preface: "In this exhibition, the symbiotic interplay between art and technology, and the cyclical interweaving of past and future, together create a boundless dialogue space where ideas flow freely and inspiration endures. By bringing together global artists, scientists, experts, and scholars, this biennale aims to build an interactive network integrating artistic creation, technological innovation, and industrial practice— to truly perceive the power of creation through 'Dialogues Between Liangzhu and the World' and 'Dialogues Between Art and Technology'."

During the exhibition, the following supporting events will be held in parallel. The China (Hangzhou) Art and Technology Symposium will focus on exploring international, diverse, and open pathways for art-tech integration. The Manifesto of the 1st China (Hangzhou) Art and Technology Biennale will be officially released, translating the Global Civilization Initiative from a vision into practical actions and contributing Chinese wisdom to the symbiotic evolution of art and technology in a globalized context. The Catalog of the 1st China (Hangzhou) Art and Technology Biennale 2025 will be published, comprehensively presenting the diverse forms and innovation achievements sparked by the interaction between art and technology, while systematically documenting global artists’ creative reflections and practical solutions in the digital and information context.

It is reported that the exhibition will run until December 18.