2006 Annual Meeting of the Geographical Society of China (GSC) was held on August 19-21 in Lanzhou, Gansu Province of Northwest China. A total of some 1000 geographical researchers and educators from home and abroad participated in this meeting. More than 700 papers were submitted and discussed during this academic meeting.

This conference was co-sponsored by GSC, Lanzhou University, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Northwest Normal University, and Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) under CAS.

Professor Chen Fahu, Chairman of organizing committee of the meeting, presided over the opening ceremony. Academician Lu Dadao, President of GSC, made the opening speech. Mr. Jiang Xinzhi, General Secretary of Gansu Provincial Government, and Professor Zhou Xuhong, President of Lanzhou University, delivered the welcome addresses. Professor Liu Ji from Northwest Normal University, Professor Li Xiubin from IGSNRR, Mr. Gao Runsheng from the Ministry of Education of China, Mr. Yang Wenzhi from China Association for Science and Technology, and Professor Fu Bojie from CAS, addressed the opening ceremony. Academician Shi Yafeng, Academician Li Jijun, Academician Zheng Du and Academician Qin Dahe made keynote speeches on development history and future trend of geography in China. Academician Cheng Guodong and Academician Tang Lizhong attended the opening ceremony as well.

The theme of this annual meeting is 揃uilding of A Harmonious Society and Innovation of Geographical Sciences? A total of 12 famous geographers were invited to give academic reports during the conference with a wide range of current hot topics, including Academician Lu Dadao, Academician Cheng Guodong, Academician Qin Dahe, Professor Liu Jiyuan, Professor Yao Tandong, Professor Fu Bojie, Professor Chen Fahu, Professor Yu Lizhong, Professor He Daming, Professor Gu Chaolin, Professor Yang Guishan, and Professor Bao Jigang. Their reports reflect the top academic level at home and abroad and embody fully leading parts Chinese geographers are playing in national economy and social development of China.

Parallel sessions were organized on the following 20 topics: (1) International experience and regional development of western China; (2) Sustainable exploitation of water resources and construction of ecological economy in arid areas; (3) Desertification control and sustainable development; (4) Crysphere and global climate change; (5) Geomorphological evolution and disasters; (6) Environmental quality and human health; (7) Environmental change, climate change and civilization evolution; (8) Quantitative and process simulation of the phenomena in physical geography at a micro-scale; (9) Economic globalization, industrial transformation and environmental change; (10) Man-land relationship and eco-friendly society building; (11) Research on agricultural geography and building of new countryside in China; (12) Water-ecology-urbanization process; (13) Cities: harmony-development-innovation; (14) Urban planning and landscape design in the 21st century; (15) Quantitative remote sensing and changing environment; (16) Evaluation and examination based on new curriculum for senior high schools; (17) Seminar for promoting tourism geography and regular meeting for Special Commission of Tourism Geography; (18) Young academic salon and regular meeting for Working Committee of Young Geographers; (19) First Academic Annual Meeting of Geographical Graduates in China; (20) The road to urbanization with Chinese characteristics.

As usual, monographs and journals on geography were exhibited during the annual meeting. The delegates from some publishing houses and journal editorial boards attended this meeting, including The Commercial Press, Science Press, and Higher Education Press as well as Acta Geographica Sinica and Journal of Geographical Sciences, Science in China (Series D), and Chinese Science Bulletin.

At the closing ceremony, 23 young geographers were prized for their excellent papers presented to this annual meeting. It was declared that the 2007 annual meeting of GSC will be held at Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, East China抯 Jiangsu Province.

(Zhao Xin)