Conference venue

Foundation Engineering Magazine and Foundation Engineering Network　With the comprehensive development of China's economic construction, the large-scale construction of national major infrastructure—including highways, railways, bridges, ports, airports, the development and utilization of underground space for super high-rise buildings, high-speed railways and highways, and deep-sea ocean platforms—has brought about an increasing number and complexity of ground improvement engineering problems, along with many new technologies and methods. In order to continuously innovate and improve the theory and construction level of modern foundation engineering, and at the same time provide a professional exchange platform for personnel engaged in the design, construction, research, and teaching of foundation engineering, the 16th National Symposium on Ground Improvement, hosted by the Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Branch of the China Civil Engineering Society, was grandly held in Chongqing. Through the high-level academic reports and discussions at this conference, the hot and difficult issues in foundation engineering will be clarified, further promoting the scientific and technological progress of building foundation engineering and the development of the discipline.

On May 8, the 16th National Symposium on Ground Improvement grandly opened at the Keyuan Days Hotel, with more than 400 experts and scholars in the ground improvement field attending the conference. Gathering together, participants exchanged academic views and sparked new ideas around the theme 'Opportunities and Challenges of Ground Improvement under the Belt and Road Initiative'.

The conference officially began under the chairmanship of Professor Lu Xin, President of the Geotechnical Engineering Branch of the Chongqing Civil and Architectural Society. At the opening ceremony, Academician Gong Xiaonan of Zhejiang University, Director of the Academic Committee on Ground Improvement, was first invited to deliver a speech for the 16th National Symposium on Ground Improvement.

Academician Gong Xiaonan of Zhejiang University, Director of the Academic Committee on Ground Improvement, delivers a speech. On behalf of the Academic Committee on Ground Improvement, he expressed heartfelt congratulations on the convening of the conference and extended a warm welcome to the delegates attending the conference. He stated that the Academic Committee on Ground Improvement is a highly dynamic branch with a strong academic atmosphere, and he hoped that peers would continue to raise awareness of engineering safety, innovation, and the environment, leaving a green and beautiful world for future generations.

Professor Liu Songyu delivers a speech. On behalf of the Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Branch of the China Civil Engineering Society, he extended sincere welcome to the guests attending the conference. He stated that through full exchange of ideas and sharing of experience, this conference will become a milestone event in China's ground improvement engineering field.

Professor Liu Hanlong delivers a speech on behalf of the organizing institution. He stated that after sixteen sessions of development, the National Symposium on Ground Improvement has grown into the largest, most influential, and most authoritative academic brand and exchange platform in China's ground improvement engineering field. He pointed out that China's ground improvement engineering science and technology development has now entered a new period of historical opportunity, and expressed the expectation that Chinese scholars can become originators of more new theories, contributors to technological breakthroughs, practitioners of ground engineering innovation, and leaders of new culture and new ideas, adding luster to the discipline and winning glory for the country.

Some of the presenting guests

The biennial National Symposium on Ground Improvement is an academic conference with a relatively long history and profound influence in China's ground improvement engineering field. Centered on the theme 'Opportunities and Challenges of Ground Improvement under the Belt and Road Initiative', the 16th National Symposium on Ground Improvement organized a series of special forums and special exhibition activities, and set up sub-venues for academic exchange in five main research fields and directions: theory and practice of pile composite foundations, development and application of new ground improvement technologies, ground improvement testing and calculation theory, soft soil and dredged fill ground improvement technology, and special soil ground improvement. The two-day conference included 11 keynote reports and more than 70 academic reports for exchange.

At the closing ceremony, Professor Ye Guanbao of Tongji University delivered a speech and summarized the conference.

Group photo of Chongqing University and experts

At this point, the 16th National Symposium on Ground Improvement came to a successful conclusion. Experts, scholars, and engineering technicians from all over the country exchanged and discussed the theory and practice of ground improvement, technological progress in composite foundations, and the development and application of new technologies, new processes, and new equipment. Foundation Engineering Magazine hereby thanks all colleagues for their close attention to our coverage and gives a thumbs-up to the successful convening of this symposium.