Guangzhou was awarded both the "City Award" and the "Energy & Environment Award" at the 2025 Smart City Expo World Congress on September 4, recognizing its comprehensive approach to integrating technology with urban governance and sustainable development. The city emerged victorious from a competitive field of 47 participating cities and 152 submitted cases across China.
The Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) is the world's largest themed exhibition focused on the intelligent development and transformation of cities and societies. It has been held annually for fourteen consecutive years since 2011. The "City Award" is the highest honor presented by the Congress, awarded to only one city globally each year. It is renowned as the "Oscars" of the smart city industry, underscoring its exceptional prestige.
Guangzhou's strategy has focused on creating a "resilient, thinking city" through comprehensive digital transformation. This involves using digital infrastructure as its backbone, data elements as its neural pathways, and an urban brain (a central AI-powered management system) as its core command center. The city's approach combines smart city initiatives with a people-centric philosophy, exemplified by projects such as a digitized power grid that reduces carbon emissions and supports a green ecological cycle.
During the congress, Guangzhou showcased an exhibition hall featuring collaborations with major tech and state-owned enterprises, including China Telecom, Huawei, and the Southern Power Grid Guangdong Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau. The display highlighted real-time data management systems and low-carbon energy solutions, attracting significant attention from delegates representing 25 Asian countries and regions.
The awards align with China's recent central government emphasis on building "efficient and convenient smart cities" as a key urban policy priority. As a national central city and the core engine of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou has pioneered a provincial smart city reform pilot. Its comprehensive digital transition case was recently listed among China's top 50 exemplary projects.
Author | Feng Huiting
Photo | SCEWC
Editor | Huang Qini, James Campion, Shen He
