Commemorate Anniversary of the Death of Academician Zou Deci

Dec. 28, 2021 is the anniversary of the death of Academician Zou Deci, an outstanding urban planning expert of China. In order to cherish his important contributions in the field of urban and rural planning, and to memorialize his active academic thinking and noble moral sentiments, the "Academic Symposium on the Anniversary of the Death of Academician Zou Deci" was held at the China Academy of Urban Planning & Design (CAUPD) on the afternoon of Dec. 28. More than forty experts and scholars attended the symposium, which was co-organized by the CAUPD and the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC).

The meeting was chaired by Wang Liqiu, Secretary of the Party Committee of the CAUPD. The meeting began with a one-minute silent tribute and a video on the life of Academician Zou Deci. Then representatives of various parties delivered their memorial remarks. Among them there were Wang Kai, President of the CAUPD; Shi Nan, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the UPSC; Wang Ke, Deputy Director of the Department of Building Energy Efficiency and Science & Technology of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Mao Qizhi, Professor of Tsinghua University; and Wu Zhiqiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as Wang Ruizhu, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Sun Anjun, President of the UPSC, Li Xun, former Vice President of the CAUPD, Zhu Ziyu, former Chief Planner of the CAUPD, and the representative of Academician Zou's students. They expressed their remembrance of Academician Zou by recalling his remarkable achievements and his vision for the development of the cause of urban planning, his outstanding contributions to the field, and the time they worked with him.

Among them, Mao Qizhi, Professor of Tsinghua University, Associate Chief Editor of China City Planning Review (CCPR), paid deep tribute to Academician Zou, representing the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, CCPR, the Editorial Board of Sciences of Human Settlements in Encyclopedia of China, and other academic institutions and organizations that Academician Zou had organized, led, and participated in with great contribution. CCPR was first publicized in 1985 by the UPSC and initially sponsored by the CAUPD, with Chen Zhanxiang as its Chief Editor. The journal was suspended for various reasons from 1998 to 2005, and resumed publication with the support of Academician Zou in 2006. In October of the same year, the UPSC officially appointed Academician Zou as the Chief Editor of CCPR, positioning the journal as "a window showcasing urban construction achievements in China, a platform for Chinese and foreign scholars to communicate, and a way for scholars abroad to understand what has happened or is happening in China." As of 2021, the editorial board of the journal has been re-elected twice and Academician Zou tried his best to attend every editorial board meeting. When the First Meeting of the Third Editorial Board of CCPR was held in 2017, Academician Zou insisted on attending the meeting in spite of his illness and inconvenience in walking. In the concluding speech of the meeting, Academician Zou stressed once again that CCPR was an important journal in the field of urban and rural planning in China, acting as an indispensable platform for China to publicize its urban and rural planning achievements and development modes to the world. He also encouraged the colleagues in the editorial department to make due efforts to improve the journal with the support of the Third Editorial Board and to keep it operating well.

Academician Zou was modest, prudent, and tolerant in his life, and sought truth from facts in a down-to-earth manner in his work. He has always been a model for us. We will always keep in mind Academician Zou's teachings and endeavor to run well the CCPR journal, tell good Chinese stories, and make contributions to the academic exchanges between China and foreign countries.

                                           Edited by Wang Miao with reference to https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cnPu_6Rh-M7F2QcGfEautA (Wechat account of CCPR)