China's next generation of geosynthetics professionals shared their latest research at the 3rd Youth Forum of the China Technical Association on Geosynthetics (CTAG).

The event is held every two years by the Young Members Committee (YMC) of CTAG, which IGS China (CCIGS) is part of, and this year welcomed some 200 delegates to the Shangde International Hotel venue in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province in Northwest China.

The forum on August 1-3 included seven plenary presentations, 13 specialist presentations, 39 thematic presentations and 25 graduate student presentations which covered topics including soil reinforcement/stabilization, barrier systems, and hydraulics.

This year's event also included a roundtable discussion on 'Belt and Road Initiative – Geosynthetics', where CTAG and CCIGS members joined local experts from hydraulics and highways to share their thoughts and experiences on practical applications using geosynthetics.

Dr. Zhijie Wang, Secretary General of CTAG's YMC, said: "Xinjiang Province is the starting point of Belt and Road. Geosynthetics will definitely play an important role in local infrastructure constructions."

Delegates were also able to hear from keynote speakers:

• Professor Liangtong Zhan – 'Mechanism of capillary barrier water storage in arid land surface soil and ecological enhancement technology'.
• Dr. Shijie Zhang – 'Design and application technology of multi-tier reinforced soil steep slopes for the storage-transport-loading system of Xingbao Railway'.
• Prof. Guangqing Yang – 'Influence of panel stiffness on the structural behavior of railway reinforced soil retaining walls'.
• Dr. Xuejun Liu – 'Geosynthetics application in building construction and municipal engineering'.Dr. Jun Zhang – 'Mechanism and engineering application of waste whole-tire-geogrid reinforced subgrade'.
• Dr. Haimin Wu – 'Deformation characteristics of impermeable geomembranes in water conservancy and hydropower engineering'.
• Dr. Jie Liu – 'Key technologies and engineering applications for enhancing the performance of desert highway geocell-aeolian sand subgrade and pavement'.

CTAG/CCIGS's Young Members Group began in 2021 and currently has 147 members. The next Youth Forum is set to take place in Hangzhou in 2027.

Mandarin speakers can find out more about geosynthetics activities in China by visiting the CTAG website.