The two-day symposium on "Design-driven, Energizing Small Walled Towns and Inland Areas" was successfully held with the support of San Marino Confucius Institute. The conference was co-organized by Beijing City University (BCU), the University of San Marino and the University of Bologna, with keynote speeches from experts in architecture and design from the University of Bologna, Politecnico di Milano, the University of San Marino, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London and Università della Svizzera italiana. More than 100 scholars participated in the symposium online and offline.

Guo Xiaoxia and Karen Venturini, Chinese and Foreign Directors of San Marino Confucius Institute, delivered speeches on behalf of the Confucius Institute. The cases of Dr. Liu Rui and Dr. Liu Xiaoxi from BCU were selected for the symposium. The two teachers discussed with the experts about the thoughts of conservation in ancient villages in China and the excellent cases of revitalizing ancient city culture driven by design.

The success of this international symposium brought to a successful conclusion of a two-year joint research project on "Regenerative Design of Small and Micro Territories", the results of which will be preserved and disseminated in the form of a publication. The symposium enriched the academic connotation of San Marino Confucius Institute and raised the international influence of BCU. It was a meaningful attempt of the Confucius Institute to play the role of a bridge to promote the internationalization of BCU and a successful case of introducing Chinese philosophical thoughts to the world through architectural design.