As a metropolis famous for its multiple-citizen culture, Wuhan is going to welcome the first Wuhan Engineering Design Biennial Exhibition and the Art City Forum on Nov 11, 2011.

During the press conference, Wang Li, director of the urban construction committee of Wuhan, released the news that Wuhan will take the opportunity of the exhibition to transform itself into an engineering design capital of the world in the future.

"In order to build up new urban brands, Wuhan will combine science and art with technique and creativity to highlight its advantages in engineering design," Wang said.

About 11 outstanding modern buildings and the classical construction projects conducted by 50 design institutes in Wuhan are going to be transferred into print works and watercolor paintings by artists from Hubei Institute of Fine Arts.

All of the art works will be exhibited in the Wuhan Art Gallery for half a month. During the biennial exhibition, there will be forums every weekday. Moreover, several masters will give lectures at the weekend.

"The biennial exhibition is definitely one of the most popular ways to display the art works throughout the world,” Wang said. “However, it is Wuhan which initially combined the engineering design and biennial exhibition.”

In terms of the engineering design, Wuhan is unquestionably ranked in the top 3 in China. It is estimated there are 364 design institutes in Wuhan with over 60,000 employees. The annual comprehensive value reached 50 billion yuan in 2010.

A lot of the world recognized infrastructure projects were designed and conducted in Wuhan; for instance, the Three Gorges Dam, the Yangtze River Tunnel. In addition, some extraordinary engineering designs, such as the Library of Wuhan University and the Yangtze River Bridge, have already become landmarks in the city.

"The main purpose of this biennial exhibition is to promote the citizens` sense of identity and happiness, and to develop the city’s traditions", said Xu Yongmin, president of the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts.

On the basis of the existing industrial advantages, the Wuhan municipal government proposed to build the city into the engineering design capital of the world. At the same time, the city will take this opportunity to accelerate its transformation process.