FIG is the most authoritative international organisation in the global surveying, mapping and geospatial sector, covering more than 120 countries and regions and representing over 230,000 surveying professionals worldwide. It is not only a platform for technical exchange but also holds significant influence over international surveying standards and rule-making. Its quadrennial congress is known as the "Olympics" of the surveying industry—and for 148 years, that Olympics had never set foot in Chinaor in Asia.

　　The opponent was Seville, Spain—a long-established city with deep roots in the European surveying community.

　　Qingdao's bidding team officially began its work in the second half of 2025. "Just three of us handled the texts, proposals and submissions," said Zhang Zhihua. "But the entire institute worked as one—everyone behind the scenes was fully engaged."

　　They wrote materials, revised presentations, handled administrative procedures, edited videos, and coordinated internationally—each person juggling multiple roles around the clock. Promotional videos were fine-tuned frame by frame, slide decks polished repeatedly, speeches proofread in both Chinese and English, brochures consolidated and optimised, and exhibition boards meticulously laid out. The difficulty of the bidding process was far greater than outsiders could imagine.

　　FIG operates under a set of rules and cultural logic built over 148 years—and the hardest part was not just the language barrier, but understanding the culture. "You have to understand their way of thinking and their working habits," Zhang said. Every outgoing email was carefully worded; replies could take "more than a week, ten days, even a month." The team sent out batches of materials weekly and produced a city video every month.

　　"We often felt overwhelmed," Zhang admitted candidly. "Time and again, we thought we had hit a dead end."