From November 22 to 24, the First Conference on Intelligent and Green Bridge Construction and the First Conference on Intelligent Maintenance and Construction of Geotechnical and Tunnel Engineering in Extreme Environments were held in Chengdu, China. The Conference was supervised by the Civil, Hydraulic and Architecture Engineering Academic Division of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and hosted by Southwest Jiaotong University in collaboration with the State Key Laboratory of Bridge Intelligent and Green Construction, and the State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Geotechnics and Tunneling.

The Conference focused on the theme of “Intelligent and Green Construction, and Smart Operation and Maintenance” and explored the latest advances in bridge, tunnel, and geotechnical engineering. Participants discussed new theories, methods, technologies, products, and materials within the intelligent and green construction domain and the integration of industry, academia, research and application, reaching consensus, provoking proactive thinking, and promoting exploratory technological research.

CAE Academicians Nie Jianguo and Zhu Hehua chaired the academic committee and Academician He Chuan presided over the opening ceremony. Among the over one thousand attendees were 40 CAS and CAE academicians and more than 500 renowned experts.

Yang Dan, Vice Chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), delivered an opening address, highlighting the significance of the conference in gathering wisdom to facilitate the intelligent and green transformation of bridge engineering and tunneling. He indicated the importance of enhancing collaboration between universities, research institutions, and enterprises to share resources and complement each other's strengths for the progress of the industry.

Nie Jianguo, Director of the Civil, Hydraulic and Architecture Engineering Academic Division of CAE, said in his speech at the opening ceremony that bridge, tunnel, and geotechnical engineering are the core control nodes in infrastructure, and that  intelligent, green and sustainable construction is key to the high-quality development of civil engineering in our country.

Yan Xuedong, President of SWJTU, pointed out that in recent years, the University has been consistently promoting "intelligent and green construction, and smart operation and maintenance". He expressed the hope that this conference would serve as an opportunity to further strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-domain cooperation between universities, research institutions, and enterprises.

Gao Zongyu, CAE Academician, and Li Guoliang, National Design Master of Engineering Survey and Design, respectively introduced the State Key Laboratory of Bridge Intelligent and Green Construction and the State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Geotechnics and Tunneling.

Keynote speakers of the Conference were Qian Qihu, CAE Academician and recipient of the National Science and Technology Award, CAE Academicians He Huawu and Ding Lieyun, Wang Tongjun, Chairman of the China Railway Society, and Huang Changfu, Vice President of China Railway Construction Co., Ltd.

The two conferences proceeded simultaneously with over 60 experts making keynote speeches on the afternoon of November 23 and throughout November 24. Professor Wang Ping, Vice President of SWJTU, and Professor Xu Youlin, Academician of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, shared in their presentations the latest research results with the audience.