Mayors from Italy, Argentina, Uganda, Cambodia and other countries visited the giant Buddha at the Longmen Grottoes and toured the local museum on Saturday in Luoyang, an ancient Chinese capital in central China's Henan Province, as part of the 2026 World Mayors Dialogue.

They took photos and swapped notes with local officials on protecting heritage. Then they sat down to talk about what ancient capitals do when the world moves on.

The theme of this year's dialogue is "Sustaining the Cultural Lineage of Ancient Capitals, Advancing Mutual Learning Among Urban Civilizations."