Xi’an—the ancient capital where caravans once set history in motion—welcomed the living voice of world poetry on 8 January 2026, as the 4th Silk Road International Poetry Spring Festival Gala unfolded in a celebration of language, memory, and shared human imagination. In a city long regarded as the eastern gateway of the Silk Road, poetry once again became a bridge between civilizations.
Organized jointly by the Poetry Committee of the United Nations World Silk Road Forum, the China Shaanxi Sanqin Cultural Research Association, and the Silk Road International Poets Federation, the gala brought together poets, intellectuals, and cultural figures from across continents. The event affirmed poetry as a timeless medium of dialogue, capable of transcending borders, ideologies, and languages.
This year’s festival was marked by an exceptional international presence, with poetic blessings arriving from 15 countries: China, the United States, Russia, Italy, Australia, Greece, Egypt, Switzerland, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Belgium, and New Zealand. Both international and Chinese poets participating in the festival will receive honorary certificates, recognizing their contribution to global poetic exchange and Silk Road cultural dialogue.
A specially produced gala trailer featured distinguished poets and cultural leaders whose voices reflect the diversity and vitality of contemporary world poetry. Among them was Cao Shui, renowned Chinese poet, Executive Chairman of the Silk Road Poets International Federation, International Coordinator of the World Poetry Movement, Coordinator of the BRICS Writers Association, Chairman of the Beijing International Poetry Film Festival, and initiator of the Great Poetic Movement. He was joined by Wang Fangwen, Chinese poet, President of the Silk Road International Poets Federation, and Chairman of the Poetry Committee of the United Nations World Silk Road Forum.
The trailer also featured Han Geyou, Chinese-American poet and President of the World Chinese Poetry Society; Ji Chunsheng, poet from New Zealand and publisher of the Global Collection Monthly of Chinese Classical Poetry and Art; and Vadim Terekhin, Russian poet, Vice Chairman of the Russian Writers Association, General Coordinator of the BRICS Writers Association, and International Coordinator of the World Poetry Movement.
Also appearing were Max Lu, Founder and Chairman of the United Nations World Silk Road Forum; George Wallace, American poet and Chief Editor of Poetrybay; Kou Beichen, Professor at Genovasi University College, Malaysia; and Raed Al-Jishi, Saudi Arabian poet. From Australia, Zhang Lizhong, President of the Australian-Chinese Poetry and Art Association, lent his voice, alongside Dimitris P. Kraniotis, Greek poet.
The global resonance of the festival was further enriched by Xiong Maowen, Chairman of the World Internet of Things Association; Laura Di Corcia, Swiss-Italian poet; Liu Rongwen, President of the Western American Chinese Association; and Lamberto Garcia, Italian poet and Chairman of the Jury for the Ossi di Seppia International Poetry Prize in Italy. Voices from Eurasia and the Americas included Nikolay Vasiliev, poet from Yakutia, Russia, and Oscar Saavedra Villarroel, Chilean poet and American Coordinator of the World Poetry Movement.
Africa and Asia were represented by Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, Egyptian poet and Secretary-General of the African Journalists Association; Kang Byeong-Cheol, Korean poet; and Vo Thi Nhu Mai, Vietnamese-Australian poet. From China, Ling Xiaochen, President of the Poetry Society of Xianyang City, participated, alongside Sylvie Marie, Belgian poet and European Coordinator of the World Poetry Movement.
Held in Xi’an, a city where history breathes through stone and verse, the 4th Silk Road International Poetry Spring Festival Gala reaffirmed poetry’s enduring role as a custodian of memory and a herald of future harmony. By weaving together voices from East and West, North and South, the festival once again proved that the Silk Road is not only a route of trade, but a living corridor of culture, imagination, and shared humanity.
