Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province in central China, has signed cooperation agreements with Washington DC and Annapolis in the USA, Vienna in Austria, Rome in Italy, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, at the China (Hunan) International Tourism Festival 2009 held in Orange Islet, Changsha.

In common with Changsha, with the Xiangjiang River and Orange Islet, the other five cities also have beautiful rivers and islets. Under this agreement, they will form a city alliance for cooperation on tourism. Changsha will maintain governmental and non-governmental exchanges and cooperation with the five cities on tourism and economy.

Members of the alliance hope to explore new ways to develop their distinctive tourism resources through this new strategic cooperation platform.