Zhang Baoxiu, head of the College of Applied Arts and Science of Beijing Union University and director of the Research Base for Beijing Studies, delivers a speech at the 20th Beijing Studies Annual Conference on in Beijing, Sept 15, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 20th Beijing Studies Annual Conference was held in Beijing Union University on Sept 15 to 16, marking the 20-year anniversary of the research base.

More than 100 worldwide scholars, including those from South Korea and Japan, attended the conference. They shared opinions on the construction and strengthening of Beijing as the national culture center as well as the cultural connotations of the old capital city.

Since its establishment in 1998, the Research Base for Beijing Studies at Beijing Union University has played a role in studying, discovering and serving Beijing, as well as publishing annual reports and blue books on Beijing's cultural protection, spatial structure optimization, and folk culture.

In 2016, the center's contributions to Beijing studies propelled it into the list of the first Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI) issued by the China Think Tank Research and Evaluation Center at Nanjing University and Think Tank Research and Release Center of Guangming Daily.

Zhang Baoxiu, head of the College of Applied Arts and Science of Beijing Union University and director of the Research Base for Beijing Studies, together with Tao Xiping, honorary director of the Research Base for Beijing Studies, gave remarks on the achievements of the base over the past 20 years.

The conference was co-organized by the Research Base for Beijing Studies, the Capital Museum, Beijing Union University, the editorial department of the Journal of Beijing Union University, the Association for Beijing History Studies, and the Geographical Society of Beijing.