SHANGHAI, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 4, 2025 Tomorrow.City Shanghai successfully concluded at the Zhangjiang Science Hall. At the closing ceremony, the highly anticipated Region & China Smart City Awards Ceremony was held, unveiling major honors including the Leadership Category Awards, City Category Awards, Enterprise Category Awards, Best Products Award, and Best Projects (X-SDI) Award. These accolades highlighted the outstanding achievements of Chinese and Asian cities in smart city development, setting benchmarks for global cooperation and innovation.
2025 Region & China Smart City Awards Announced: “Tomorrow.City” Witnesses a New Chapter in Global Smart City Development
This year's awards particularly recognized cities, institutions, enterprises, and individual representatives who have played a leading role in governance transformation and contributed exceptional solutions. The goal is to encourage more partners to join smart city building, share experiences, and jointly shape people-centered "Tomorrow.City."
Launched by the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), the World Smart City Awards (WSCA) are hailed as the "Oscars of the smart city field." Since its establishment in 2011, it has become one of the most authoritative platforms in the industry. The Region & China Smart City Awards focus specifically on Asia's urban digitalization journey. In 2025, the Organizing Committee received 152 best scenario proposals for smart cities, with 47 Chinese cities (including district-level units) submitting applications—further underscoring the award's influence and leadership in advancing urban digitalization.
Wu Zhiqiang, Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Member of German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), and Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), stressed that future urban development requires not only cutting-edge technology but also deep global cooperation. "Tomorrow.City is not merely a platform to showcase technologies, but also a testbed for jointly exploring the future. China's practices in smart cities, green energy, and urban governance are now being shared globally through Tomorrow.City, creating a Chinese model of global significance."
The Chinese Model Leading Smart Transformation and Building Urban Innovation Benchmarks
China continues to attract international attention with innovative concepts and practical applications. In the 2025 China Smart City Awards, Guangzhou won the prestigious City Award, the highest honor in smart city building, for its pioneering achievements in digital governance and green low-carbon transformation—providing a "Chinese sample" for modernizing the governance of megacities worldwide.
In addition, Shanghai received the Safety and Resilience Award for its innovations in digitalized emergency management, while Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province was honored with the Industry and Economy Award for advances in industrial digitalization. Dongguan, Guangdong Province secured the Mobility Award for its excellence in smart transportation, and Chaoyang District in Beijing received the Innovation Award for its exploration of new technologies and service models. Together, these winning cases fully demonstrated the Chinese model's innovative strength and exemplary effect in promoting sustainable smart urban development.
Shan Zhiguang, Director of the Industrial Development and Research Department, National Information Center, observed: "A smart city is not something that is just 'built'—it is continuously 'used, improved, and refined.'" The sustained practices of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Dongguan, and Beijing have created mature, workable solutions that offer valuable references for cities worldwide.
Product and Technology Innovation Shaping a New Landscape
The development of smart cities depends not only on supportive policies but also on technological innovation and business model exploration. This year's Enterprise Category Awards highlighted Leading Corp., Outstanding S.M.E., and Rising Start-up that are shaping the smart city ecosystem. Beijing Chaoyang Environment Group Co., Ltd. was recognized with the Leading Corp. for its industry leadership. Shanghai Sancity Environment Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Yixiao Aviation Technology both received the Outstanding S.M.E, showcasing the dynamism of smaller players. Meanwhile, Hangzhou CarbonSilicon AI Technology Development Co., Ltd. was honored with the Rising Start-up, reflecting its potential as a rising force in the sector.
Equally significant was the Best Products Award, which was shared by two pioneering innovations: the AlTaresh developed by Beijing Virtual Point Technology Co., Ltd., and the FondaCity AIoT Platform developed by ZHEJIANG FONDA TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. Both products demonstrated industry-leading strength in technological innovation, user experience, and market application, underlining the critical role of product excellence in advancing smart cities.
Scenario and Leadership: Dual Drivers of Future Urban Practice
Smart city development requires not only advanced technologies but also practical scenarios and strong leadership. The 2025 Best Projects （X-SDI） Award recognized eight groundbreaking cases spanning diverse areas such as green neighborhoods, rooftop photovoltaics, early fire detection, integrated urban governance platforms, AI-driven transformation, smart healthcare, and heritage preservation. These award-winning practices originated from Kazakhstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, China, Oman, the UAE, and Thailand. Each demonstrated how innovative approaches can address citizen needs and regional challenges while charting sustainable pathways for urban transformation.
Leadership Category Awards was also a central focus of this year's Region Smart City Awards. The Principal Architect and Core Execution Team of Thailand's Smart City Capacity-Building Programs received the highest distinction, the Leader Award, for their pivotal role in driving regional capacity building. HRH Shaikh Essa Abdulla Essa Abdulaziz Al Mualla (UAE), Ms. Grace de Leon (Innovation and Improvement Manager of Christchurch City Council, New Zealand), and Mr. Huang Yuezhen (Chairman of Guangzhou Digital Technology Group Co., Ltd., China) were respectively recognized with the Youth Talent Award, Expert Award, and Entrepreneur Award. Collectively, these leaders represent the backbone of smart city development, making outstanding contributions to urban transformation and innovation.
People-Centered Cooperation for a Sustainable "Tomorrow.City"
As a vital stage for the global smart city ecosystem, the World Smart City Awards not only recognize achievements but also foster cross-regional learning and cooperative building. All cities, enterprises, and individuals shortlisted in the 2025 Region & China Smart City Awards will be eligible to apply for the World Smart City Awards, gaining opportunities to showcase their excellence and innovation on an international stage.
"Through cooperation and exchange, we are not only designing the cities of the future—we are realizing them," Academician Wu Zhiqiang emphasized. He highlighted that smart city development requires joint efforts by government, enterprises, and academia to transform technological innovation into practical governance capacity and public well-being.
With technological progress and deepening cooperation, Tomorrow.City is rapidly moving from vision to reality, collectively driving the construction of greener, smarter, and more inclusive future cities.
