On the morning of October 24, the 11th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium successfully concluded after completing its three-day agenda.

In the first session, the "China Special Session," Academician Feng Xiating of Northeastern University, as the keynote speaker of the "Qian Qihu Lecture," delivered an invited report titled "Excavation Induced Deep Hard Rock Fracturing: Methodology and Application"; Academician Zhao Yangsheng of Taiyuan University of Technology delivered an invited report titled "Research trends of short-term prediction of rock mass failure"; Professor Cui Yujun of the French National School of Bridges and Roads (École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées), as the keynote speaker of the "Qian Qihu Lecture," delivered an invited report titled "Soil-atmosphere interaction in earth structures"; Professor Zhang Chunsheng of PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited delivered a report titled "Study on mechanical properties of Baihetan basalt and engineering applications"; Academician Chen Yunmin of Zhejiang University delivered a report titled "Deformation and failure characteristics of rock mass under tectonic movement based on hypergravity experiments".

Academician Qian Qihu, Honorary President of the Society; Academician He Manchao, Chairman of the Conference, Secretary of the Party Group and President of the Society; Academician Feng Xiating, President of the Society; Academician Zhao Yangsheng, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Society; Academician Li Shucai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of the Society; Comrade Liu Guirong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Science and Technology Societies of the China Association for Science and Technology; Professor Yang Qiang, Vice President of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM); Professor Tang Chun'an and Professor Song Shengwu, Vice Chairmen of the ISRM Chinese National Group; Professor Wu Aiqing and Researcher Yin Yueping, Vice Presidents of the Society, and a total of more than 300 guests and representatives attended the offline closing ceremony. ISRM President Resat Ulusay, ISRM Vice President for Asia Suseno Kramadibrata, ISRM Vice President Ömer Aydan, and Mahendra Singh, Chairman of the ISRM Indian National Group; Academician Zhou Yingxin of Singapore; Academicians Kang Hongpu, Chen Xiangsheng, and Yang Chunhe, Vice Presidents of the Society; Academician Chen Yunmin, Executive Director of the Society; and 202 overseas experts from 26 countries across six continents participated in the online conference of the symposium. The closing ceremony was chaired by Professor Yang Xiaojie, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee and Secretary-General of the Society.

Professor Yang Qiang, ISRM Vice President, announced on behalf of the international organization that the host country for the 12th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (ARMS12) will be the ISRM Vietnamese National Group, and a short promotional video for ARMS12 was played.

Academician He Manchao, President of the Society, delivered the concluding speech. He first introduced the fruitful results achieved at this conference: during the conference, a total of 31 parallel sessions were held, with 522 presentations; among them, 14 were international sessions with 112 presentations by overseas experts. The presentations covered experimental studies, constitutive modeling, field monitoring, case studies, and important applications in fundamental theoretical research fields of rock mechanics and rock engineering, as well as discussions on the frontiers of rock mechanics and rock engineering. Academician He pointed out that this helps the industry clearly understand the challenges and opportunities we face, provides useful guidance for the future development of rock mechanics and rock engineering, and the results achieved at the symposium will certainly have a long-lasting impact on the future of rock mechanics and rock engineering.

The closing ceremony also featured the 2021 Science and Technology Award Ceremony of the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering, where the 12th Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering Science and Technology Awards, the 2021 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards, and the 6th National Youth Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Awards were presented.

Under the guidance of international organizations, with the support of ISRM Asian national groups and the China Association for Science and Technology, and with the active participation of the Society's professional committees, branches, local societies, supporting units, institutional member units, and attending experts and representatives, this conference achieved fruitful results and successfully completed all tasks. It has once again been recorded in the history of academic exchanges in China's rock mechanics and engineering community as the largest academic event in the discipline of rock mechanics and engineering in China, and as one of the important landmark academic conferences marking China's progress from a major country in rock mechanics to a powerful country in rock mechanics.