Lu Xinshe (right), vice-minister of land and resources and director general of China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, talks with Ian Dowman, president of ISPRS on August 21, 2007.

Highlighting the theme of "Silk Road for Information from Imagery", China will host the 21st Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) in July.

The quadrennial ISPRS Congress is one of the most important events in the community of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences.

Sponsored by the Chinese Society of Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography, the 21st Congress will consist of keynote and plenary sessions featuring distinguished scholars, parallel oral and poster sessions presenting the latest developments in a broad range of topics, a users' forum showing successful solutions and new demands from the professional community, and a commercial exhibition demonstrating state-of-the-art equipment and services.

The Congress will be the culmination of four years' work by many researchers, scientists, practitioners and administrators working in the fields covered by ISPRS, said Lu Xinshe, chairman of the National Steering Committee for the 21st ISPRS Congress.

"I firmly believe that the 21st ISPRS Congress will not only enable participants to present the latest developments, exchange experiences, and discuss key issues in the field of photogrammetry, remote sensing and GIS, but also offer them an opportunity to gain insight into their professional development in China, explore cooperative relations with Chinese institutions and professionals, and find business opportunities in Beijing and elsewhere in China," said Lu, who is also vice-minister of land and resources and director general of China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

The program for the Beijing Congress includes a number of aspects that recognize international collaboration and provide an opportunity for inter-society and inter-organization activity, Lu said.

The Congress will be held during the International Polar Year and the International Year of Planet Earth, followed by events including the important progress of the Group on Earth Observations and the activities of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs.

The Beijing conference has received more than 2,800 papers from more than 90 countries and regions across the world, the largest number of papers the ISPRS conferences have ever received, Lu said.

The Congress was last held in Asia, in Kyoto, Japan, in 1988. It has since been held in Europe and North America. The last Congress in Istanbul started the move to bridge all continents.

"The journey from Istanbul in 2004 to Beijing in 2008, following the Silk Road used by traders since 200 BC, symbolizes the importance to ISPRS of international communication. It also recognizes that ISPRS wishes to involve all nations and all cultures in its activities," said Ian Dowman, president of ISPRS.

"I hope that after Beijing, the Congress may move to other continents which have not previously hosted this event. The 2008 event is an opportunity for people of all nations to share their experiences with colleagues from around the world," Dowman said.

Besides the technical activities, a wide variety of social events will be arranged during the Congress to help participants and persons accompanying them experience the unique Chinese culture, according to Lu.

Delegates will be able to catch up with developments in photogrammetry and remote sensing, meet old friends and make new ones, and experience the exciting developments and fascinating culture of China, he added.

About 80 percent of information about the productive activities of human beings is related to geographic location. Based on mapping results and utilization, the geographical information industry has become a new industry with broad coverage, long industrial chain and rapid growth rate, Lu noted.

Internationally, the geographic information industry has attracted the extensive attention of industry and governments and an increasing number of internationally famous companies such as Microsoft and Google.

Since the 1980s, especially in the 1990s, China has undergone the analogue to digital transformation in surveying and mapping technology system, with the assistance of photogrammetry and remote sensing. Great achievements have been made in the construction of the geo-spatial framework for Digital China and in the development of GIS industry. Geo-spatial information is playing a unique role in the development of social economy and the information society.

Photogrammetry and remote sensing have provided technical guarantee to the design and implementation of many engineering plans including "South to North Water Diversion Project", "West to East Power Transmission Project", " West to East Natural Gas Transmission Project", "Qinghai-Tibet Railway", "Three Gorges Project", and projects for "Digital City"and "Digital River."

China's geographic information industry has seen rapid development in recent years and maintained its strong development momentum, effectively promoting the development of intelligent transportation, modern logistics, network information services and mobile positioning industries, Lu said.

In 2007, the total output value of China's geographic information industry reached more than 50 billion yuan ($7.1 billion), statistics show.