The programme of the “Culture City of East Asia” is the first international cultural city designation event in Asia jointly initiated by China, Japan and South Korea, upholding the spirt of the China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit, and also a major cultural achievement among the three countries and a signature cultural collaboration of the East Asia region. The “Culture Cities of East Asia” must boast abundant cultural resources and distinctive cultural characteristics of their own, while also possessing certain East Asian cultural resources and qualities, reflecting the cultural spirit of East Asia, and playing a leading and exemplary role in promoting East Asian cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

In support of the application for Macao as a “Culture City of East Asia”, the Macao SAR Government specially established a dedicated working group in 2023, which is responsible for the urban development work and the preparation, planning, implementation and management of the programme. Expert members evaluated the candidate cities in terms of their cultural and artistic creation systems, preservation and transmission of outstanding traditional culture, public cultural service systems, cultural promotion and exchange, cultural industries and consumption, tourism products and services, integrated development of culture and tourism, and urban cultural characteristics. After the preliminary evaluations and on-site visits by the reviewing agencies, six candidate cities were shortlisted for the final evaluation stage.