The symposium spanned three days, with topics covering core directions such as the development and application of transparent geotechnical materials, image processing and testing technologies, and model experiment methods and equipment development. As a disruptive innovation in the field of geotechnical engineering, transparent geotechnical technology achieves precise, visualized observation of internal stress evolution and failure mechanisms in soil through the deep integration of highly realistic transparent materials, data acquisition, and 3D imaging technologies. This breakthrough has been hailed in the industry as the "X-ray machine of geotechnical engineering." It not only completely breaks the limitation of traditional experimental observation, which could only "see the surface but not the interior," but also marks China's geotechnical engineering officially entering the era of "transparency," providing an unprecedented strategic technical means for revealing the mechanisms of complex engineering disasters and for disaster prevention and control.

In his keynote report titled "The X-ray Machine of Geotechnical Engineering—Development and Application of Multifunctional Transparent Soil Model Experiment Technology," Professor Liu Hanlong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Academic Committee of Chongqing University, elaborated on the core technical breakthrough. Academician Liu pointed out: "Traditional geotechnical engineering model experiments can only observe surface deformation, whereas transparent soil technology, through the principle of refractive index matching, enables the optical properties of transparent materials to perfectly match those of soil particles, achieving full-field, full-time, non-contact, non-disturbing, and visualized observation of internal deformation and failure processes within the soil." This technical breakthrough enables researchers to truly "see through" the soil body, providing a completely new perspective and methodological foundation for studying internal structural deformation of geotechnical bodies.

The application prospects of transparent soil technology are broad and far-reaching. Experts at the symposium demonstrated innovative applications of the technology across multiple fields: in earthquake engineering, it can precisely study liquefaction mechanisms and their impact on building stability; in tunnel engineering, it can intuitively observe the deformation and failure processes of tunnel surrounding rock; in slope engineering, it can reveal landslide initiation mechanisms and movement patterns. In addition, the technology can be applied to studying the migration patterns of contaminants in underground environments and to stability analysis of underground energy storage facilities, highlighting its core value in ensuring the safety of major engineering projects. Transparent geotechnical technology is expanding from a single experimental method into multiple fields such as intelligent construction, disaster prevention and control, and environmental geotechnics, and will surely reshape the technical paradigm of future engineering safety.

The successful holding of this symposium is not only a milestone in the history of China's transparent geotechnical technology development, but also an important symbol of China's geotechnical engineering moving toward systematic, standardized, and internationalized development. The rise of transparent geotechnical technology will not only profoundly change the models for predicting and preventing disasters in geotechnical and underground engineering, but will also inject strong momentum into serving major national strategies, safeguarding people's lives and property, and promoting "smart construction" and "sustainable development."

Liyang witnessed the glorious moment when transparent geotechnical technology set sail. In the future, this revolutionary tool will surely accelerate the building of international discourse power for China's geotechnical engineering discipline and become an important calling card for Chinese solutions going global.