When AI Meets World Heritage: iFLYTEK’s Full-Stack AI Powers the 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Huangshan

From May 28 to 31, the 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Huangshan was held in Huangshan, Anhui Province, bringing together mayors and city representatives from ten countries, including China, Germany, Italy, San Marino, Nepal, Indonesia, Serbia, Thailand, Slovakia and Malaysia.

Under the theme "Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Shared Brilliance of Heritage: Mutual Empowerment Between World Heritage and Urban Development," participants gathered in southern Anhui to discuss how cities can preserve their cultural heritage while harnessing technology to drive sustainable development.

Huangshan is a rare destination that brings together multiple UNESCO honors, including World Cultural and Natural Heritage status, a UNESCO Global Geopark, and a World Biosphere Reserve. As this world heritage city—home to the cultural essence of eastern China—welcomed mayors from ten countries, one of the event's central questions was how to make the living traditions of Huizhou culture more visible, accessible and resonant with global audiences.

As the official AI technology service provider for the event, iFLYTEK presented its full-stack portfolio of AI translation hardware and software solutions, providing end-to-end support for this international gathering across languages and cultures.

How AI Glasses Won Over International Mayors

On the morning of May 28, in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Showcase area, three national-level intangible cultural heritage items from Huizhou—She inkstones, Hui inksticks, and Hui-style writing brushes—were displayed side by side. Mayors and city representatives gathered around the long exhibition table, taking a close look at the craftsmanship behind each piece.

Another highlight of the showcase was iFLYTEK AI Glasses. Designated as the event's official AI glasses, the device weighs just 40 grams, making it the world's lightest multimodal smart eyewear with binocular monochrome displays.

At the venue, Ghofar Ismail, Head of the DPMPTSP Agency of Indonesia's Special Region of Yogyakarta, tried the glasses in person and was visibly impressed by their smooth translation performance. Tímea Sotáková, Deputy Mayor of Michalovce, Slovakia, and Alexander Badrow, Mayor of Stralsund, Germany, also took a close interest in the product, asking detailed questions about its features, use cases, and technical advantages.

The most memorable moment came when Filippo Gasperi, Mayor of Gradara, Italy, immersed himself in the iFLYTEK AI Glasses experience several times. Impressed by China's latest advances in AI innovation, he expressed strong interest in using the device over the long term. After receiving the glasses, Mayor Gasperi put on the green, white, and red official sash reserved for the city's highest-level protocol occasions and posed for photos with iFLYTEK's R&D team and event staff in his official capacity.

Behind the strong interest was the technical strength of iFLYTEK's AI glasses. Powered by an end-to-end simultaneous interpretation LLM, the device supports real-time translation across 122 languages. Its pioneering multimodal noise-reduction solution, based on lip-movement recognition, can accurately identify the speaker and filter out background noise in busy settings such as exhibitions and social gatherings, significantly improving translation accuracy.

From function calling and ecosystem service integration to multimodal understanding, the glasses create a closed loop of AI capabilities. More than a wearable interpreter, they serve as a powerful AI assistant right before the user's eyes.

Huizhou Fish Lanterns Get Their First English-Speaking AI Storyteller

For China's rich traditional culture, the greatest challenge in reaching the world has never been a lack of appeal. It has always been how to make that culture understood across languages and borders.

During visits to the intangible cultural heritage market and Tunxi Old Street, iFLYTEK's Dual-Screen Translator 2.0 helped Chinese and international guests communicate face to face in real time. Powered by an offline large model, the device was able to provide stable and smooth translation support even in complex on-site network conditions. Built on the iFLYTEK SPARK Simultaneous Interpretation LLM, it can achieve a first-response latency as low as two seconds for Chinese-English simultaneous interpretation.

With its dual-screen design, both speakers can view the original speech and translated text at the same time, making cultural explanations, on-site Q&A, and interactive exchanges more intuitive and natural. The device also features terminology support across 17 industries and more than 100,000 professional terms, along with a dome-shaped acoustic isolation design that effectively suppresses ambient voices and background noise in open settings such as markets and historic streets. Together, these capabilities allowed Huizhou's ancient architectural artistry, regional cultural character, and the cultural depth of Jiangnan heritage to be conveyed to global audiences in a fuller, more accurate, and more natural way. 

On the afternoon of May 29, at Lebi Garden in the rear courtyard of Nanhu Academy in Hongcun, Yixian County, Wang Yufang, an inheritor of the Zhanqi Fish Lantern intangible cultural heritage tradition, was joined by a special "AI teaching assistant": Hui Xiaoyu, an AI virtual teacher powered by the iFLYTEK Trulearn SPARK Smart Blackboard.

The iFLYTEK Trulearn SPARK Smart Blackboard is a next-generation interactive teaching terminal built on the iFLYTEK SPARK LLM and co-developed with leading education institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences and South China Normal University.

For the Huangshan event, iFLYTEK created "Hui Xiaoyu", an AI ambassador for intangible cultural heritage. Speaking fluent English throughout the session, Hui Xiaoyu assisted Wang in introducing mayors from around the world to the origins, cultural symbolism, decorative patterns and intricate making process of Huizhou fish lanterns in a clear and accessible way. During the hands-on workshop, the mayors were able to ask Hui Xiaoyu questions in real time, creating a smooth and engaging human-AI interaction.

For the first time, a Huizhou folk art passed down for centuries had an English-speaking AI storyteller — a quiet but deeply moving moment in the continuing story of China's intangible cultural heritage.

A Chinese Car That Speaks 22 Languages, Powered by Two Decades of iFLYTEK Expertise

On the afternoon of May 28, mayors and city representatives boarded a fleet of new-energy vehicles provided by Chery, iFLYTEK's strategic partner, for a test-ride experience.

The partnership between iFLYTEK and Chery dates back to 2003. That year, the Chery QQ became the first vehicle in the world to feature iFLYTEK's in-car voice technology — remembered by many in China through the phrase, "the lovely QQ can talk".

Over the past two decades, iFLYTEK has grown alongside Chery as the automaker expanded from China to global markets, helping drive its evolution from voice interaction to broader in-vehicle intelligence. Today, as Chery vehicles reach customers worldwide, iFLYTEK has delivered production-ready language solutions for Chery across seven major overseas markets, supporting 22 languages in regions including the Middle East, South America, Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

A Chinese car is now driving onto the global stage — speaking 22 languages along the way. 

During the test ride, international guests experienced iFLYTEK's SPARK-powered smart cockpit and iFLYSOUND Smart Sound Field. The demonstration showed how China's smart cockpits are moving beyond basic voice control toward a more capable, intuitive and personalized in-car experience — one that can understand user needs, respond naturally and make every journey more engaging.

In the face-to-face interviews that followed, iFLYTEK AI translation earbuds provided lightweight, on-the-go language support, helping the mayors gain a clearer understanding of China's new-energy vehicle industry.

The test ride gave international guests more than a glimpse of China's progress in new-energy vehicles. It also showed how iFLYTEK's AI technologies are supporting Chinese companies as they bring intelligent products and services to global markets.

iFLYTEK AI Interpreta Powers the Event: Helping the World Hear Huangshan, and Huangshan Speak to the World

While iFLYTEK's hardware products addressed the need for portable, face-to-face communication, the event's main sessions relied on iFLYTEK AI Interpreta for full multilingual support.

On the evening of May 28, iFLYTEK AI Interpreta provided real-time translation during the leadership remarks session, displaying accurate English captions on the main screen and officially opening the international dialogue in Huangshan. 

On the morning of May 29, mayors from several countries gathered at the popular viewing deck of Yupinglou, high on Huangshan Mountain and surrounded by a sea of clouds. Against this dramatic backdrop, they held in-depth discussions on topics including the low-altitude economy, technology-driven new quality productive forces, ecological conservation, and sustainable urban development.

Powered by its mature intelligent translation technologies, iFLYTEK AI Interpreta provided real-time multilingual AI voice broadcasts for the high-level outdoor dialogue. 

At the opening ceremony that evening, multilingual services in Chinese, English and other languages were provided throughout key sessions, including remarks by Chinese and international leaders and the World Mayors Dialogue. The system was designed to meet the demands of both formal addresses at a major international event and the diverse needs of cross-cultural exchange.

Behind this capability is years of real-world deployment. iFLYTEK AI Interpreta has served events in more than 50 countries and regions, supported over 420,000 conferences and meetings, and reached a total audience of more than 400 million.

Over the years, it has provided professional and efficient translation support for major international events, including the China International Import Expo, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference and a series of UNESCO meetings. In doing so, it has become an essential voice bridge for modern international conferences.

Bridging Civilizations with the Power of AI

Across four days and three nights in Huangshan, mayors from ten countries came to see a China that is at once ancient and youthful, unmistakably Eastern and profoundly global.

Civilizations thrive through exchange, and cultures live on through connection. As China's rich traditional culture reaches out to the world, the hardest distances to cross are not geographical, but linguistic and cultural — the walls of language and the gaps in interpretation. AI is emerging as a powerful bridge, helping break down those walls and bring cultures closer together.

From the main venue of the World Mayors Dialogue to the intangible cultural heritage market, visits to historic streets and the smart vehicle test rides, iFLYTEK embedded AI translation, intelligent hardware and scenario-based solutions throughout the event.

For this international gathering, iFLYTEK provided more than technical support. It helped make conversations smoother, cultural stories easier to understand, and technological innovation more tangible for participants from around the world.

Looking ahead, iFLYTEK will continue to strengthen its full-scenario AI translation and international communication capabilities, supporting high-level global exchanges and helping bring China’s rich traditional culture to wider audiences around the world.