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.

In May 2024, a delegation of the Macao SAR Government led by the then Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture travelled to Beijing to participate in the final evaluation for the “Culture City of East Asia 2025”, where they made a presentation and engaged in on-site discussions. Macao received unanimous high recognition from all jury members with its outstanding development plan and passed the final evaluation and won the honour with top ranking. On 12 September 2024, the award ceremony of the title of “Culture City of East Asia 2025” was held during the 15th China-Japan-the Republic of Korea Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Kyoto, Japan. Representatives of cultural departments of the three countries, namely the Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Zheng; the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, Masahito Moriyama; and the First Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea, Yong Ho-seong, awarded the plaque of the designation to representatives of Macao SAR (China), Huzhou (China), Anseong (South Korea), and Kamakura (Japan), adding another glittering “gold business card” to Macao as an international metropolis.

In 2025, the Macao SAR Government will launch a series of activities under the theme “East-West Encounter, Asia in Harmony”, featuring large-scale cultural expos, intangible cultural heritage showcases, as well as cultural, sports and tourism events, and will take the opportunity of Macao’s designation as a “Culture City of East Asia 2025” to further expand the city’s cultural connotations and improve its public cultural service systems and the construction of facilities. Macao will continue to leverage its advantage as a city featuring the integration of Chinese and Western cultures and of extensive international exchange, play its role as a “base for exchange and cooperation with Chinese culture as the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist”, participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the “Belt and Road” initiative, foster the cultural and tourism exchange and collaboration across East Asia, facilitate exchange between Chinese and foreign cultures, tell the stories of China, and establish Macao as an important bridgehead for the country’s high-level opening up to the world and a vital window for exchange and mutual understanding between the Chinese and Western civilisations.