Abstract: The systemically analyzed four major advantages of the ecological tourism resources in the lower reaches of the Yellow River: 1) Unique ecological features such as new wetlands, "above-ground river", and "bird international airport"; 2) Rich in human-water symbiotic culture, including water conservancy, ancient capitals, intangible cultural heritage, and red tourism; 3) Rich in landscapes such as river-wetland-marine composite ecological chain, embankments, and ecological corridors; 4) Located in the core of the North China Plain and close to tourist markets, with prominent geographical advantages. It proposes the requirements for high-quality development of the downstream ecological tourism industry: 1) Centered on ecological carrying capacity, prioritize protection (Low Impact Development, LID); 2) "Tourism" + integrated innovation to achieve multiple transformations of ecological value, cultural value, and economic value; 3) Utilize new quality productive forces to enhance the precision of ecological protection and the level of service intelligence; 4) Establish a high-quality development model to achieve collaborative governance among multiple entities such as the government, enterprises, communities, and tourists. Finally, it explores the collaborative path between ecological protection and high-quality development of the industry: 1) Strictly adhere to the ecological protection red line and legally and compliantly utilize resources such as national parks and nature reserves; 2) Promote financial tools such as "ecological loans" and carbon credit trading to attract social capital to participate in ecological tourism development; 3) Conduct ecological protection-themed activities to enhance tourists' ecological awareness and environmental protection behaviors; 4) Build ecological science popularization corridors/museums and research bases to disseminate the concept of ecological civilization; 5) Assist in rural revitalization and drive the economic development of surrounding villages; 6) Establish a diversified and collaborative governance system and improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism.
2026 International Conference on Sustainable Development and Urban Planning (SDUP 2026)
Prof. Mingzhou Qin
Henan University, China
Mingzhou Qin, a secondary-level professor, a returnee from the United States, a specially-appointed professor of the university, and a doctoral supervisor. He is the director of the Intangible Resources Introduction Base for Yellow River Delta Ecological Construction and Rural Revitalization in Henan Province, the director of the Provincial Postdoctoral Innovation Team in Geography, and the honorary chairman of the Henan Land Society. He also serves as an expert in the National Third Soil Census Platform Construction Group, a consulting expert of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an expert of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Provincial Government's Working Group for Deepening the Reform of University Institutional Mechanism, a consulting expert for the Third Soil Census in Henan Province, and the group leader of the platform technology construction team. Additionally, he is a member of the Henan Natural Resources Think Tank, an expert of the Spatial Planning Think Tank, an expert of the Provincial Prosecution for Public Interest Litigation Research Institute, a director of the China Land Society, a director of the China International Landscape Ecology Society - China Branch, a director of the Henan Association of Returned Overseas Students (Leisure Association of Returned Overseas Students), the vice president of the North American Branch, etc. He has previously served as the chairman of the Henan Land Society， an expert of the Henan Provincial Government's Natural Reserve Review Committee and Biodiversity Review Committee，a deputy director of the Education Work Committee of the Chinese Society of Natural Resources，and a deputy director of the Resources Geography Professional Committee.
Abstract: The systemically analyzed four major advantages of the ecological tourism resources in the lower reaches of the Yellow River: 1) Unique ecological features such as new wetlands, "above-ground river", and "bird international airport"; 2) Rich in human-water symbiotic culture, including water conservancy, ancient capitals, intangible cultural heritage, and red tourism; 3) Rich in landscapes such as river-wetland-marine composite ecological chain, embankments, and ecological corridors; 4) Located in the core of the North China Plain and close to tourist markets, with prominent geographical advantages. It proposes the requirements for high-quality development of the downstream ecological tourism industry: 1) Centered on ecological carrying capacity, prioritize protection (Low Impact Development, LID); 2) "Tourism" + integrated innovation to achieve multiple transformations of ecological value, cultural value, and economic value; 3) Utilize new quality productive forces to enhance the precision of ecological protection and the level of service intelligence; 4) Establish a high-quality development model to achieve collaborative governance among multiple entities such as the government, enterprises, communities, and tourists. Finally, it explores the collaborative path between ecological protection and high-quality development of the industry: 1) Strictly adhere to the ecological protection red line and legally and compliantly utilize resources such as national parks and nature reserves; 2) Promote financial tools such as "ecological loans" and carbon credit trading to attract social capital to participate in ecological tourism development; 3) Conduct ecological protection-themed activities to enhance tourists' ecological awareness and environmental protection behaviors; 4) Build ecological science popularization corridors/museums and research bases to disseminate the concept of ecological civilization; 5) Assist in rural revitalization and drive the economic development of surrounding villages; 6) Establish a diversified and collaborative governance system and improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism.
Prof. Rita Yi Man Li
Hong Kong Shue Yan University, HK China
Professor Li is a Full Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University, where she serves as the Program Director of the Master of Science in Financial Technology Management (https://ef.hksyu.edu/Programmes/MSc-FTM) and Director of the Sustainable Real Estate Research Center.
She has established an extensive international academic network, with research collaborators from Ghana, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, Cyprus, France, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Pakistan, and mainland China, among others.
Professor Li has been invited as a keynote speaker at more than 30 international conferences. Her scholarly impact is reflected in her Google Scholar profile, which shows over 10,000 citations (R. Li - Google Scholar). In recent years, she has also been recognized as a top 2% scholar by Stanford University.
Over the years, Professor Li has received numerous local and international awards. She has served as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (Co-I) on many academic research grants, with cumulative funding exceeding HKD 40 million. These include highly competitive grants from the Research Grants Council (RGC), the Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education, the Public Policy Research Grant in Hong Kong, the ARC Linkage Grant in Australia, grants from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, various grants from the People’s Republic of China, as well as other grants from quasi-public institutions and government departments. Many of these projects are related to artificial intelligence, sustainable and smart built environments, and FinTech.
In addition, Professor Li serves as Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board Member for several academic journals.
Title: Tailoring Sustainable B&Bs to Cultural Preferences: Evidence from 37 Countries
Abstract: Bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs) offer short-term stays to guests from diverse cultural backgrounds, yet little is known about how culture shapes demand for eco-friendly B&B features despite rising interest in sustainable tourism. To address this gap, we surveyed participants from 37 countries and analyzed the responses using structural equation modeling to examine how cultural dimensions and demographic factors influence perceptions of B&Bs' sustainable facilities. Results show clear cultural and demographic patterns. Respondents from high power-distance cultures tended to view all types of sustainable facilities more favorably, suggesting deference to authority or established practices may translate into greater acceptance of host-provided green measures. By contrast, cultures with strong uncertainty avoidance rated ventilation systems less positively, perhaps reflecting skepticism toward technologies perceived as novel or inconsistent. Age and education also mattered: older respondents were generally less positive about green systems, whereas those with higher educational attainment expressed stronger approval of sanitation and other eco-friendly amenities. This study provides empirical evidence that cultural traits significantly shape travelers’ perceptions of environmentally friendly B&B facilities, filling an important research gap. The findings carry practical implications for B&B operators and policymakers: owners should tailor their sustainability offerings and communication to the cultural profiles of target markets, while governments and industry bodies should prioritize support for basic green infrastructure, particularly water and sanitation, to encourage wider adoption. Overall, our work highlights that culturally informed strategies are essential for promoting eco-friendly B&B development and meeting diverse guest expectations.
Asst. Prof. Yitian Ren
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China
Dr Yitian Ren is an Assistant Professor and Director of Spatial Analysis and Policy Lab at Department of Urban Planning and Design, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University; and Honorary Associate of The University of Liverpool. She obtained PhD in Planning and Environmental Management from The University of Manchester with Full Scholarship and has won the prestigious Manchester Doctoral College (MDC) Excellence Award. Dr Ren’s research focuses on Urban Sustainability and Resilience; Smart Cities; Rural restructuring; Entrepreneurial Development; and Sustainable Built Environment. Her research works have appeared in the top journals in the field such as Cities, Sustainable Cities and Society, Land Use Policy, Habitat International, and Scientific Data (Nature Portfolio); with the H-index of 28. Dr Ren has been named a 2024 Top Scholar by ScholarGPS and currently serves as Editorial Board Member of Humanities and Social Science Communications and Assistant Editor of Journal of Urban Management.
Title: Towards Resilient Cities: Flood Vulnerability Assessment Based Adaptive Zoning Approaches
Abstract: Coastal megacities, as the engines of national economies and hubs of dense population, are highly vulnerable in facing escalating threats from climate-induced hazards such as sea-level rise and extreme precipitation events. Traditional urban planning approaches relying upon historical data and making formulating long-term flood management plans presents limitations to predict and reflect the real scenario of future flood conditions. Under such background, a fundamental paradigm shift of urban planning approaches is considered imperativeessential for tackling climate change-induced critical challenges faced by global coastal megacities.
In this keynote speech, we take flood risk, one of the most significant challenges induced by climate change, as a specific research focus, to develop a set of spatial planning approaches that can integrate precise, data-driven flood vulnerability assessments to generate adaptive and tailored development guidance among different regions within a specific city. The proposed methodological framework for flood vulnerability assessment based adaptive zoning provides operational bridge to address the "assessment-to-action" gap that has been long-standing in the field of flood resilience and spatial planning.
The findings of this our research can provide scientific foundation and referable toolkit for differentiated flood resilience building and management approaches, moving beyond "one-size-fits-all" flood control toward more climate resilient urban development in complex metropolitan areas.